The J/24 US National Championship perpetual trophy will have a familiar name for 2019: Will Welles’ on Buckaroo has achieved the title for the fourth time. Welles, also the reigning J/24 World Champion, was joined by crew Jeff Linton, Chris Morgan, Monica Morgan and Erik Rexford at Rochester Yacht Club in New York. Buckaroo collected Sunday’s first win and added a seven for 23 net points in the eight-race series. Able to discard a UFD from race five, Welles retained scores only in the top seven. Last year’s National Champion Robby Brown and Mark Liebel on Angel of Harlem claimed the runner-up position with 38 points. William Bomar’s Bangor Packet sailed an impressive regatta with a pair of bullets, putting them in third place with 41 points. Joining Welles as a race winner on Sunday was Nobuyuki Imai’s Siesta team from Japan. The 46 teams enjoyed a calmer sea state, sunny skies and winds of 8-12 knots.
Top five:
- Buckaroo, Will Welles – 2 -3 -2 -3 -[47] -5 -1 -7 ; 23
- Angel of Harlem, Robby Brown/Mark Liebel – 5 -9 -[16] -5 -3 -4 -6 -6 ; 38
- Bangor Packet, William Bomar – 1 -2 -[20] -1 -4 -11 -13 -9 ; 41
- Honeybadger, Travis Odenbach – [14] -1 -3 -9 -5 -8 -14 -2 ; 42
- Helly Hansen, John Mollicone – 4 -6 -1 -4 -17 -[47]
Complete results may be found at https://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=6056, and photos are available on the USA J/24 Class Facebook page.