DAZZLER Glitters @ J/22 Worlds XXX

(Newport, RI)- Allan Terhune and the DAZZLER team won the first race of the J/22 World Championship and never looked back. His crew of Katie Terhune, Kristine Wake and Marcus Eagan are now the 2013 J/22 World Champions (sponsored by Fidelity Investments and hosted by Sail Newport).  Seventy-one teams from Canada, the Cayman Islands, South Africa and the USA competed in the five-day event, marking the 30th anniversary of the J/22.

After dropping a 19th in race nine, Terhune's remarkably consistent scores of 1-2-3-9-2-2-1-4-4 for 28 net points in 10 races kept the DAZZLER gang in the lead. Brad Julian’s THREEDORIES.COM, with Matthew Schubert and Colin Robertson, made an impressive attempt to take over DAZZER with four consecutive bullets, but wound up six points shy and in the silver position with 34 points. Mark Foster with Brian Babbitt and Matt Romberg on TEJAS collected third place with 54 points.

“I had an awesome team. It was a total team effort,” commented Terhune. “Marcus was great on trimming and keeping the boat pointed in the right direction. Katie and Kristine were awesome at boat handling, keeping the mood light and getting everything done.” He also praised the host location, saying, “There’s nowhere better than Newport. Brad Read, Anderson Reggio and the whole SailNewport team are awesome!! We had great sea breezes, we had some Northerlies, we had shifty races, we had a little bit of everything, and that’s what makes it so fun. It was spectacular!”

Only one race was completed on the last day due to light winds. Julian’s THREEDORIES.COM continued a hot streak from Friday by tallying a third-straight bullet in race 10. Foster's TEJAS trailed in second, and Martin Kulman’s NEW WAVE in third. “I’m really excited for Brad and his team,” commended Terhune on his fellow Annapolis-based team. “They sailed a great event and didn’t make it easy on us at the end. They sailed well and fought to the end.”

The first day was notable for light, unstable winds which postponed racing and led to the abandonment of one race. The 71 teams had trouble starting too, with the Z-Flag coming out for both completed races. Despite the conditions, Terhune posted a 1-2 to lead the field.  After Thursday's pair of races, Terhune’s DAZZLER kept up the momentum and had accumulated just 11 points including a first and a second. THREEDORIES.COM, helmed by Brad Julian, held second place with 31 points and Chris Doyle’s THE JUG 4 1 stood two points further back in third.  After two more races were completed Friday, Julian’s THREEDORIES.COM knocked out two bullets to make a move toward the Championship crown. Terhune’s DAZZLER acquired a fourth in race eight but had to settle for a 19 in race nine, leaving them with 24 net points. Julian stood at 33 points. In third place, Chris Doyle’s The Jug 4 1 had tallied 50 points.  Saturday's final race day was marred by a light, unsteady breeze.

In the end, Terhune's DAZZLER team were declared J/22 World Champions.  They were followed by Julian's THREEDORIES.COM in second and Mark Foster's TEJAS from Corpus Christi, TX in third.  Rounding out the top five was Doyle's THE JUG 4 1 from Rochester, NY in fourth and Benz Faget's FATS team from New Orleans, LA in 5th.

Top women's team was Rochester, NY/ Jamestown, RI native Cory Sertl sailing LUCY with Amy Moran, Meg Myles and Annemarie Cook.   Sailing photo credits- Paul Todd/ Outside Images.  For more J/22 World Championship sailing information

Terhune Dazzles J/22 Midwinters

(Tampa, FL)-  Allan Terhune of Arnold, MD helmed DAZZLER to the lead on the first day of the J/22 Midwinter Championship in Tampa, Florida and never looked back. Ideal conditions greeted competitors from fifteen teams at Davis Island Yacht Club on the first day, with breezes in the 5-15 kts range under sunny skies and temperatures in the low 70s. From their the weather hung in there, despite one cloudy day.

Terhune's DAZZLER dominated the competition to win by fourteen points. Racing with Allan were Katie Terhune, Jeff Linton and Louise Neuberger. Terhune dropped his lowest score of only four and kept a line of 3,1,1,1,1,1,2 for just ten points in the eight race series. He was quick to praise the host Davis Island Yacht Club, saying "We couldn’t have had a better three days of sailing—warm, good breeze, challenging and fun!"

Chris Doyle of Kenmore, NY finished in second place with 24 points, and Casey Lambert of Seabrook, TX came in third with 28 points. The Maryland-based DAZZLER led from day one in the 15-boat fleet, and Terhune voiced that it was "unfortunate for anyone who missed this fun regatta. The Race Committee was great, and the social events were all fun." The J/22 Class is gearing up for its 30th anniversary with their J/22 World Championship this October in Newport, RI.

Terhune was happy to start off his year in such an exciting manner. "We were able to work on our team work and tuning, and start off the season right,' Terhune said. 'We’ve started our road to Worlds!"

In the final day of racing on Saturday, winds averaged around 14 knots in race eight, and then increased to a sustained 28 so race nine was abandoned. Terry Flynn’s TEJAS won the day’s only contest, trailed by Terhune and Doyle.

The top five were 1st Allan Terhune (10 points), 2nd Chris Doyle (24), 3rd Casey Lambert (28), 4th Terry Flynn (30) and 5th Chris Wientjes (36). The J/22 Class extends its appreciation to Davis Island Yacht Club and its volunteers, including PRO Mike Dawson and Regatta Chair Trista Snook. Complete results are available at J22 Midwinters.   For more J/22 Midwinters sailing information