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J/22 Worlds Report | 1 | 2 | Rock Show Based on the forum here, a bundle of you are really looking forward to following the J/22 Worlds, which start today in Annapolis. We'll we've got the shiznet for y'all as Ray Wulff, huge SA fan and Regatta Chair, promises to bring us daily reports straight from the scene. Here's his preview of what promises to be an epic battle. Enjoy. After two years of planning, the J/22 Worlds, Sponsored by Annapolis Jaguar Landrover are about to get started. (I can't believe it's finally here) To say we have our hands full is an understatement. With 130 teams from around the country and around the world, this will be one to remember. The yard is full with every level of sailor (From brand new boat - Olympian to dudes with bottom paint and bow pulpits) The best part about this event is it is bringing people out of the woodwork. John Bertrand, Chris Larson, Karl Anderson, Alec Cutler, Moose McClintock, Andrew Scott all decided to jump in at the last moment to see what they could do. This is on top of the class champions like Greg Fisher, Scott Nixon, and Peter McChesney. On top of that, there are some bad-ass crews on a lot of the boats with Andy Horton topping the list. One thing that's kinda cool is the City of Annapolis is really getting into it (Lots of Drink specials) as well as all the locals. Wherever you go downtown there is something welcoming the teams. The Boatyard bar and grill will be hopping all week long.Two weeks ago we had the Annapolis NOOD with 80 boats and that was a challenge in itself . Registration and Measurement ran Sat, Sun, Mon, and racing starts Tuesday morning and will continue to Friday. Reports, Photos, and Results can be found at the event Web site. Plus, Tucker Thompson will be producing daily video coverage and Octagon Marketing will be producing two half-hour shows for cable television / distribution. Following the chat on the SA forum, the odds makers have Scott Nixon (3-1) as the favorite with Terry Flynn (2002 WC) and Chris Larson (2x WC) in the mix. Daily reports to follow. Ray
Wulff 05/18/2004 Top
With 130 boats, this is awesome racing. Six races (Round Robin) were run today in 8-12 knots with a ton of upwind flowing current. If you look at the results you'll see a lot of teams with Z-Flags as a result. Since the fleets are split in two (65 a piece) the starts have been pretty tame. Alec Culter leads the field (Former Finn guy from the early 90s) with Dave Van Cleef and John den Engelsman (Current World Champion) rounding out the top three. This is the first day of qualifying with day two tomorrow. (The Silver and Gold Fleet happen Wednesday night) Some surprises in the results? Matt Beck. Matt has a stellar crew in Andy Horton and Scott Snyder and raised the bar on his game showing the North stalwarts whose got game. Look for the real fun to start on Thursday morning when the Gold fleet gets going. The Bacardi has been flowing like water, and the odds makers (From the forum) are going to throw in the towel for Peter McChesney (He threw out his back in the second race) The competitors are digging Annapolis and the parties have come off better than expected. Of the 130 teams there has been only one who has been a pain in the @#$. Everyone else has been the best. I imagine the forum has been slow since all the J/22 knuckleheads are sailing. The best line I've heard so far is from a well known J/24 sailor who said, "Your guy’s party’s rock, what the hell I have been doing in a J/24 all these years." Good Times, Ray
Wulff 05/19/2004 Top |
