(Great South Bay, NY)- The forty-odd J/24s that are planning to
participate in the 2016 J/24 Nationals from May 11th to 15th will be in
for a treat. Hosted by Sayville YC located on the south shore of Long
Island, the sailors will enjoy the cozy confines of a beautiful club and
the very challenging racing that can take place on Great South Bay.
Blustery offshore breezes from the northerly quadrants make for
extremely shifty, lake-like conditions with flat, but choppy waters due
to the extreme shallowness of the entire Bay. Conversely, if the fleet
experiences anything breeze from the southern segments of the compass,
it’s possible to have sunny, warm breezes blowing off the ocean with a
seabreeze component that can accelerate any gradient wind into the
high-teens or low twenties (remember, most of western Long Island is
paved). Looking forward to the fast, short-course racing that is practiced on Great South Bay will be a host of crews that have strong college-racing backgrounds and will revel in the tight quarters that are sure to happen not only on the starting line, but at all mark-roundings. Multiple J/24 World Champions are participating as either skippers or tacticians, including Will Welles from Newport, RI and John Mollicone & Tim Healy from SailNewport. A past J/24 South American Champion is joining the fun- the Argentinean Nicolas Cubria from Club Nautico Olivos. Plus, the J/24 Mexican National Champion will be testing their skills against these top competitors- Ken Porter from Club Nautico Valle de Bravo near Mexico City.
Keeping those few boats honest will be other champion J/24 sailors from the past & present, like Carter White’s Sea Bags Sailing Team from Portland YC and colleague Erica Beck Spencer’s Sea Bags Women’s Sailing Team from the same club. Travis Odenbach from Rochester YC in Rochester, NY is no stranger to the J/24 wars, collecting his fair share of silverware in time. Locals Aidan Glackin from Centerport YC and brother Fred & Al Constants from Seawanhaka YC know the waters well and will be formidable in any weather. Finally, top Seattle sailor, Mike Johnson from Seattle YC is planning to show them all how it’s done in the Pacific Northwest. For more USA J/24 Nationals sailing information
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