Epic, Sunny Marblehead Sailing World Regatta
Chicagoan Heaton Crowned J/70 New England Champion
(Marblehead, MA)- The Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series at Marblehead Race Week, it’s been said, is a regatta of mental endurance. With four days of races and no discards, every race and every point counts. There can be no quit until the final leg is sailed, especially in the waters off Marblehead Harbor where the local sailors know that the wind and weather conditions are never the same from one day to the next. And no lead is ever safe.
There were close battles across the fleet, and especially so in the J/70 division, which had two 2023 J/70 World Championship qualifying berths to play for: one for a pro team and one for an all-amateur squad. The latter was bagged by locals Charlie Pendleton, Jim Raisides, Abi Borggaard, and Wade Waddell on BAD HOMBRES after a roller coaster of a regatta. They struggled on Friday, recorded their best results on Saturday, and then almost lost it all on the final day.
“On Friday, we had our worst ever day at Race Week,” Raisides said, “but it speaks to the resiliency of the team that we went out and there on Saturday and had three top-10 finishes and were the third boat overall for the day—that shows a good team.”
The foursome on BAD HOMBRES was OCS in the first race of the final day, had to return to the start, and managed to climb back to score a 20th in the 30-boat fleet. With only one race remaining, they put their disappointment behind them and focused on getting back the points they’d given up.
“Our whole thing was to just keep playing forward and working for points,” Raisides said. Scoring an impressive 11th in the final race was enough to win the berth by a slim 2 points.
The other world-championship berth went to John Heaton’s team on EMPEIRIA, the top J/70 of the weekend, which stunned the fleet on Saturday by winning all three races.
“It was a beautiful regatta, with epic conditions for Marblehead,” said Heaton, whose team of Zeke Horowitz, Zach Mason, and Will Felder mastered the changing winds that spanned from south to west, to light and strong, especially on Saturday.
“A lot of it is due to the guys, and that the boat is set up so I can drive it without intervention,” Heaton said. “I was just driving and the whole time the crew was talking about where the wind was, the clouds, and the shifts. We had good starts and good speed, but these guys were banging the shifts perfectly. It was a proud day for me to watch the team click so well together.”
Rounding out the podium for the J/70s was David Hughes’ SMOKESHOW in second (with a crew of Chris Larson, Al Terhune, and Paul Sevigny) and Bruce Golison’s MIDLIFE CRISIS taking third (with a crew of Steve Hunt, Jeff Reynolds, and Erik Shampain).
The balance of the J/70 Corinthians behind Raisides’ BAD HOMBRES was Alden Reed’s EYC RESOLUTE in second with a crew of Alex Cook, Clinton Haes, and Hannah Lynn) and Eddie Keller’s KEY PLAYER in third place (with a crew of Chris Keller, Bill Lynn, and Petey Lynn).
Winning the J/70 Mixed+ division was Tyler Doyle’s CLOWN CAR with a crew of Elizabeth Eissner, Ronald Homa, and Jennifer Lambertz. Second went to Holly Fabyan’s ASTERIA with a crew of Miranda Bakos, Mark McHugh, and Nick Sertl. Rounding out the podium was Liz Dubovik’s WINTERWIND with the all-women’s team of Alix Israel, Shannon Lockwood, Katie Rodger, and Alexandra Romagnoli.
With eight boats, the J/105 Class saw the only runaway winner in any class at the regatta. Starting in first place on day one, Charlie Garrard’s MERLIN team of Scott Alexander, Gretchen Fisher, Jack Garrad, Janet Quigley, and Alec Torrie never relinquished their lead, closing with a trio of bullets on the final day to win with just 12 pts total in 8 races!
While counting all podium finishes, Rob Marsh’s BLOWBOAT team could only muster a silver medal with 20 pts total. Rounding off the podium with the bronze medal was Tom Root’s EL JEFE with 31 pts total. The balance of the top five was Steve Hollis’ SIROCCO in 4th and Ric Dexter’s BROUHAHA in the fifth position. Sailing photo credits- Paul Todd/ OutsideImages.com For more Sailing World Marblehead Regatta sailing information