The J/24 Class began in 1978, and in 2022 still attracts nine nations to its World Championship. This year’s edition is hosted by Corpus Christi Yacht Club in Texas USA with 38 boats representing Argentina, Chile, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Trinidad and the United States. In the two races, Paul Foerster’s Grand Slam 2 went two for two in pristine conditions of 14-16 knots to begin the Championship. The crew includes Rob Johnston, John Skiles, Stephen Andre and Mike Brown. Reigning J/24 World Champion Keith Whittemore on Furio lies four points back in second place (6 points), and John Mollicone’s New England Ropes holds third place with 8 points. Foerster also leads the robust 27-boat Corinthian division, followed by Nobuyuki Imai’s Siesta and James Freedman’s LOL. PRO Mark Foster summarized, “In Race 1, the first start was a P Flag general recall. The second attempt was a U Flag but another general recall. So the third start went to a Black Flag, and all clear. They sailed five legs at 1.4 mile leg length. In Race 2, we started with a Black Flag and again all clear. The course was five legs at 135 at 1.4 nautical miles. The winds increased up to 18 knots in the last race.” Trailing Foerster in the initial contest were Whittemore and Aidan Glackin’s Mental Floss. And in the next battle were Mike Marshall’s American Garage and Mollicone. Racing continues through Friday. A complete list of all J/24 World Champions can be found at http://www.j24class.org/about-the-j24/hall-of-fame/world-champions/. Complete event details may be found at https://www.regattanetwork.com/event/23467#home. Photos are available at https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0U5nhQSTGzx88.
International Class Association
