Mike Marshall's Bad News Captures J/22 Midwinter Championship
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INTERNATIONAL J/22 CLASS ASSOCIATION Mike Marshall’s Bad News Captures J/22 Midwinter Championship Photo courtesy of Christopher Howell Spring 2016 • Volume 15 • Issue 2 2016 Midwinters...1,3 Charleston Race Week...1,2,3,4 NOOD Annapolis...2,3,4,6,8,9 2015 Worlds...1,3,7,8,9,10 East Coasts...1,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 Northeast Regionals...1,2,3*,4,5* Canadian Nationals...1,2,4,5 Mid-Atlantics...1,3,4,5 Charleston Race Week...1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 Cleveland Race Week...1,2,3,4,5 SSA Summer Series...1,3,4,5 Annapolis YC Annual...1 Raw Bar Regatta...1 NOOD Annapolis...1,2,3,4,5,6,7 THE POWER TO PERFORM Looking forward to seeing you on the water this summer as we travel on the road to the Worlds in Kingston! Our team is ready to help your team. Give us a call anytime! MIKE MARSHALL ZEKE HOROWITZ JEFF TODD (401) 965-0057 (941) 232-3984 (410) 269-5662 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] onedesign.com * Partial inventory Class President Letter from the President Mark Stuhlmiller Williamsville, NY 716-725-4664 Congratulations to our first J/22 Youth Scholarship Boat recipient: Patrick Shanahan! Patrick is a member of the 1st Vice President Matt Dunbar Brown University Sailing Team and was selected from Pawtucket, RI a number of very highly qualified applicants—many of 401-527-7268 whom belong to the nation’s highest ranked university sailing teams. The boat will be campaigned this summer 2nd Vice President Boo Heausler with several of Patrick’s colleagues from Brown New Orleans, LA 504-481-2019 (Team SPHYNQS), the highlight of which will be the J/22 World Championship at CORK. Secretary/Treasurer TEAM SPHYNQS NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT! Jennifer Princing Hemlock, MI Please, please, please take a moment to check out the 989-245-0270 team website and make a contribution at http://www. sphynqssailing.us. You can also make a contribution Chief Measurer U.S. Technical through the Class Office through your online membership Committee Chairman renewal or via check. A list of current donors is listed at Terry Flynn League City, TX http://www.j22.com/index.php/scholarship/donors. 713-906-5497 Remember, this scholarship initiative is designed to keep Executive Secretary Christopher Howell the J/22 a healthy and vibrant Class for years to come. Cleveland, OH 440-796-3100 Even though the Class Officers have volunteered much time and money in making this initiative possible, the ultimate success of the program hinges on funding from Nomination Committee Chairman its members. As such, any support you can provide is most Sandy Adzick Haverford, PA greatly appreciated. 610-642-2232 Enough talk and pleas for your hard-earned cash… let’s get out and sail! See you all at Worlds US and International Class Office in August! 12900 Lake Ave., #2001 Lakewood, OH 44107 440-796-3100 [email protected] Mark “Stu” Stuhlmiller, USJ22CA President Newsletter Editor Julie Howell Cleveland, OH [email protected] International J/22 Class Association 3 Mike Marshall’s Bad News Excels in Big Breeze to Capture J/22 Midwinter Championship Photos courtesy of Christopher Howell conditions, despite being about 70 pounds under the Class crew weight limit. Terry Flynn’s Tejas earned second place with 22 points, and Jeff Todd’s Hot Toddy took third with 24. Fort Walton Yacht Club in Fort Walton Beach, FL hosted the three-day event March 18-20 with eight races. Bad News ran into a little bad luck on the opening day when a big shift at the end of the only race left them with a 10th place (Todd’s Hot Toddy from Annapolis, MD won in fluky winds averaging between 5-7 knots). The second day brought intermediate conditions where, Marshall said, “I When the winds piped up to 16-24 knots on the think the lightness of our boat hurt us, and we had last day of the J/22 Midwinter Championship, to fight for every point.” Then when several boats Mike Marshall’s Bad News rose to the top of struggled in the heavier air, Marshall said the the 26-boat fleet to capture the title. With crew team “took about half of the first upwind leg to Mike Nicoletti and Matt Schubert, the Newport, figure that we needed to ease the jib a little more RI-based helmsman sealed the victory with a than we thought.” He also credited tactician Matt 2,1,2 in the final blustery three races to total Schubert for making a few key calls on where to 20 net points. Three boats were within one point go. Recalling that most of the Sunday starts saw of first place heading into the day—Marshall them off the line in the top five boats, the team not one of them—but the team reveled in the still had to battle to pick off boats and make up the four-point deficit they started the day with. 4 International J/22 Class Association Photos courtesy of Christopher Howell “By being a little forward off the start, we could choose our own destiny. Boats we didn’t pass upwind, we were able to catch up with downwind. The last race we played a covering game,” summarized Marshall. While accepting his trophy, he said, “I love this Class!” The standings couldn’t have been much tighter at the top of the heap after four races were completed on the middle day. Chris Doyle’s The Jug 4 1 and Flynn’s Tejas were tied on points at 11 heading, with Todd resting just one point behind. Marshall and Chris Wientjes were tied at 15 points each. That day began with light breeze around 4-6 knots, as Wientjes snared the first victory. It was another photo finish in the next battle as winds picked up to 8-12, when Flynn edged Todd by a nose. Chris Doyle handily collected the next win as winds lightened a bit to 6-8 knots, and in the final contest, Kurt Taken- Holtze’s Turn Down for What was DSQ after protest, leaving Marshall in the money. In addition to Bad News, Sunday’s other race winners were Flynn and Todd. THE TOP FIVE: Mike Marshall Bad News (20 points) Terry Flynn Tejas (22) Jeff Todd Hot Toddy (24) Chris Doyle The Jug 4 1 (24) Chris Wientjes (32) Photos are available on the J/22 Class Facebook page, and complete results are available at www.j22mw.com. The 2017 J/22 Midwinter Championship will be hosted by Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans, LA from March 24-26, 2017. International J/22 Class Association 5 Photo courtesy of Christopher Howell The Inside Line: This year marked the first shifts pretty large. You had to get to a side and be J/22 Midwinter Championship at Fort Walton patient. You could spend half the race thinking Yacht Club. What did you think of the venue that your side wasn’t going to pay off, only to and racing conditions? have the shift suddenly come back your way. Mike Marshall: I think that Fort Walton Yacht The Inside Line: Help us get to know you and Club was a great venue, although it was a long your crew of Mike Nicoletti and Matt Schubert. drive to get there for me! The members were MM: incredibly hospitable, and the Race Committee I have to give a lot of the credit for the win and PRO did a great job, particularly given to my crew. They really stepped up to the plate in the sailing conditions they were dealt. Those some very challenging conditions with almost no conditions were far from optimal on the first practice together as a team. We had every possible day of the event as well as on the first half of the condition in the book thrown at us, and they were second day, but they made the best of them. I also able to adapt, making my job as a driver easy. really like venues like this one where the boat I had never sailed with my trimmer and tactician, dockage is very close to the evening activities. Matt Schubert, before the Midwinters, but I knew It makes it easy for everyone to get together after that he was very experienced in the J/22. He the racing. This is especially beneficial for a one- normally sails with Brad Julian, and the two of design Class like the J/22 in which people are so them have worked together very hard in the boat, friendly and willing to share what they’ve learned with many excellent results. So when I heard that each day. On the water, the Fort Walton Beach Brad wasn’t going to do the Midwinters this year, venue reminded me of the North Americans in I asked Matt to go with me. Between his constant Houston. The water was very flat and the wind work on boat speed and great tactical calls, I couldn’t have been more pleased with his top- 6 International J/22 Class Association Photo courtesy of Christopher Howell notch skills. As for my bowman Mike Nicoletti, with the breeze, before the next boat arrived. It I’ve sailed with him quite a bit over the past three was also very important to our Sunday strategy years, mostly in J/24s where he’s done bow work to know that we were closing on points, keeping as well as trimmed.