It took all nine races to determine the victor at the J/24 US National Championship, hosted by Berkeley Yacht Club in Berkeley, CA. Chris Snow’s Bogus and David Klatt’s Jaded came into the final day with just one point separating them, and in the end, it was still one single point that secured victory for Snow and his crew, which included current J/24 World Champion Will Welles (tactics), Chris Nesbitt (trim), Garth Reynolds (mast) and Doug Weitz (bow, a J/24 World Champion crew in 1995). Bogus started off Sunday with a 2,1, leaving them with a five-point advantage. Klatt did all he could in the final bout and took line honors, but Snow placed fifth which was exactly enough to win with 18 net points, to Klatt’s 19. Tokuma Takesue’s Gekko of Japan, with Mike Ingham as a crew member, took third with 32 points. Pat Toole’s 3 Big Dogs opened the day with a victory, ahead of Snow and Michael Whitfield’s TMC Racing, while winds hovered around 10 knots on San Francisco Bay. Snow snagged the bullet in the next contest, as Klatt and Takesue rounded out the top three. Closing out the regatta in 12-14 knots of wind, Klatt claimed the final race win, trailed by Scott Milne’s Tremendous Slouch and Takesue. The top five: Chris Snow, Bogus (18 points), David Klatt, Jaded (19), Tokuma Takesue’s Gekko (32), Pat Toole, 3 Big Dogs (36), Mark Laura, Baba Louie (43). Twenty five boats competed over three days. Photos are posted on the J/24 Class Facebook page, and complete results are available at http://www.2015j24nationalssfbay.com/index.php via the “Registration – Online” link at left.

Leave a Comment