The J/24 Midwinter Championship saw a variety of conditions from wild winds and waves to beautiful sun and seas to a final day lacking breeze and races. After five races overall (including one discard), Paul Abdullah’s Team Tarheel earned the 2024 title with 7 net points and finishes all in the top four. Based out of Florida Yacht Club in Jacksonville, FL, the crew included Telmo Basterra, Tucker Gilliam, Ian Hunter and Dan Rabin. Two Rochester, New York-based teams tied on points for second and third at 10 points: Travis Odenbach’s Honeybadger and Mike Ingham’s USA5443. Abdullah was a trimmer for the late Peter Bream, previous owner of hull 5287 Tarheel. “Too many teams want to find a quick path to the top. I’m having the opportunity to drive the boat now after making a notebook of what the people behind me did, and putting it to use. This is fun! People took me under their wings, and now I want to take people under mine. We learn from the best of the best.” Fourteen boats competed for the Corinthian title with all-amateur teams. Ted Wiedeke’s Caramella claimed the top position (also fourth overall) with Bud Brown, Michelle Handy, Chris Lombardo and Eric Wiedeke. James Freedman’s LOL and Marcus Rogers/ Shane Hewlett on Wind Monkey rounded out the top three.
Top Five Overall:
- Team Tarheel, Paul Abdullah – 1 -2 -1 -3 -[4] ; 7
- Honeybadger, Travis Odenbach – 2 -[17] -5 -1 -2 ; 10
- USA5443, Mike Ingham – 3 -[16] -4 -2 -1 ; 10
- Caramella, Frederick (Ted) Wiedeke – [28] -9 -2 -4 -5 ; 20
- Jesus Lizard, Daniel Borrer – 5 -4 -4 -8 -[20] ; 21
Twenty-seven boats competed from February 23-25 at Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, Florida. Photos are posted on the USA J/24 Class Facebook and Instagram pages, and complete results are available at https://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eid=16288.