The J/24 Midwinter Championship launched for 28 boats at Eau Gallie Yacht Club in Indian Harbour Beach, FL on Friday. While many parts of the country are battling extreme winter weather, J/24 racers enjoyed winds at 6-8 knots, sunny skies and temperatures in the 80s. Four races were completed, and all of them were won by John Mollicone’s Sparcraft. The team, however, accepted a scoring penalty for race one (and therefore took a 9), leaving them with 12 points on the day. With three thirds on his scorecard (races two through four), Travis Odenbach’s Honeybadger holds the runner-up position with 13 points. Aidan Glackin’s Mental Floss tallied 20 points for third place. Al Constants’ Blitz leads the 19-boat Corinthian division. Two berths are on the line for the 2024 World Championship in Seattle, WA: one Open and one Corinthian. Trailing Mollicone in the beginning contest were Patricio Sly’s Bitcoin and Kelly FitzGerald’s Rush Hour. Sandwiched between Mollicone and Odenbach in race two was Tony Parker’s Bangor Packet. Nadia Daggett’s Mustache Ride took second place in Friday’s next battle, and Glackin earned the silver spot in the final match. Racing continues through Sunday. Photos are posted on the USA J/24 Class Facebook page, and complete results are available at https://www.regattanetwork.com/event/25481#_home.