18-20 knots of breeze and a 3-4m swell greeted the fleet for the final day of racing at the 2025 J/24 World Championship. Competitors looked excited with the possibility that they may get to use their genoas for once. The course was set south of Plymouth Sound breakwater and with minimal shipping movements, race officer Sean Semmens could set a good and uninterrupted course.
Heading into the day, it was always going to be a four-way shootout for the title with the Irish team of Cillian Dickson in the driving seat overnight, but in no way assured of victory as the very experienced American Tony Parker and crew in Bangor Packet and fellow American Michael Goldfarb and crew in War Canoe were very close indeed. In fourth was Gekko from Japan, and Koehei Ichikawa clearly had a plan to get on the podium.
The first race finished with the four top boats taking the four places with Gekko earning the win, Headcase with a controlled second place and Bangor Packet just beating War Canoe on the line. Just after the first four finished, a decent squall met the remainder of the fleet finishing, making for a spectacular (if at times slightly out of control) fairground ride for some of the boats. The spectators loved it!
The final race of the day was one of control, process and clear thinking from Cillian Dickson and his crew, who dominated the race. It was fitting that they won the last race and their fifth race of the series to take the title, and it didn’t take long for the champagne to flow and celebrations to start in earnest when Headcase was back behind the breakwater. Tony Parker and his crew had a very accomplished day with a third and then second to Headcase, but ultimately they finished 7 points behind Headcase in second. The other big story was the aggressive Gekko—the team from Japan won the first race of the day and they had calculated that they needed to attack War Canoe to get on the podium. That is exactly what they did as the two boats dueled their way across the course and into oblivion, scoring a 43 and a 40 respectively. It was an amazing race to watch and one that will live long in the memory.
James Torr from the UK was the best of the rest in fifth. The UK National Champion was super pleased with his team’s performance during the week in what proved to be a hugely competitive top half of the fleet. Sam Hopper and his crew on Saltine won back-to-back Youth Under 25 World titles and are already looking forward to Melbourne, Australia in November 2026 to defend. The young crew, who were hosted locally, were very focused and consistent throughout the week.
The Worlds proved to be a wild adventure of consistent strong winds and big seas, and both the sailors and race management teams will be looking forward to some time off to recover and reflect on a week of J/24 excitement.
Event results can be found at https://www.sailwave.com/results/J24WorldChampionship2025.htm
Images: Joe Woodyear & Chambers film & media