Rossi Milev’s Clear Air Crowned J/24 World Champion

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For those who place in the bottom third in the first race of a World Championship, look to Rossi Milev’s Clear Air for inspiration. The local team overcame double-digit finishes in the first three of eight races to become the 2017 victors at the driveHG.ca J/24 World Championship in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Going into Saturday’s final day of competition, Milev trailed Tony Parker’s Bangor Packet by 5 points. Nailing a second-place in today’s only light-air contest earned Clear Air the title with 47 net points. Parker ended just one notch back, settling for the silver position after a very consistent week of sailing. Ariko Murohashi’s Lull of Japan claimed the bronze spot with 62 points. Nicolas Cubria’s Elvis won Saturday’s meeting, and although the Race Committee attempted a ninth race, conditions forced an abandonment. Milev was an integral player in his club—Port Credit Yacht Club—earning hosting duties for this Championship. “It hasn’t sunk it,” beamed Milev. “The first race went against us, but I said ‘don’t give up, it’s a long regatta.’ We just plugged away.” Crew Gayle Gray (mast), Mark Goodyear (trim), Jon Messenger (tactics) and Jeremy Edwards (bow) were up to the challenge in the persistently light air affair. Milev continued, “We had great speed all around, and could hold the lane. We sailed the rig a little bit lighter than what the tuning guide says. You never know when your time will come. You try to figure out what’s going on, but it wasn’t easy!”

The IJCA also awarded its perpetual trophies:
• Jaeger Women’s Trophy to Erica Beck Spencer, Sea Bags Women’s Sailing Team
• Under-25 Turner Trophy to Finn Hadlock, Boreas

The top five overall:

  1. Clear Air, Rossi Milev, Mississauga, ON, CAN – [46] -11 -13 -1 -11 -5 -4 -2; 47
  2. Bangor Packet, Tony Parker, Washington, DC, USA – 7 -2 -5 -8 -9 – [15] -8 -9; 48
  3. Lull, Ariko Murohashi, Koto-ku, Tokyo, JPN – [40] -14 -3 -6 -12 -8 -15 -4; 62
  4. Lifted, Evan Petley-Jones, Halifax, NS, CAN – [39] -10 -1 -2 -6 -1 -28 -20; 68
  5. YouRegatta, Carter White, Portland, ME, USA – 11 – [25] -6 -13 -19 -4 -3 -12; 68

Sixty-three teams from Argentina, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Peru and the USA competed. Complete results may be found at https://yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=2934, and photos are available on the J/24 Class Facebook page.

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