Many years of meticulous planning culminated in success last month when Annapolis and Eastport Yacht Club hosted the J/22 World Championships.
Conditions on the Chesapeake Bay were ideal for such a major regatta and organizers with Eastport Yacht Club earned universal praise from participants. Kristen Robinson served as chair of the championships and nailed the planning.
“The race committee, shoreside teams and army of volunteers did an amazing job,” Annapolis skipper Brad Julian said. “I really enjoyed the vibe of the event — not too excessive, but not bare bones either. I think Kristen and the organizing committee nailed it.”
Travis Odenbach and his top-notch team on Honeybadger captured the J/22 World Championship, beating Glenn Darden and the Baby Doll crew in a close battle. Annapolis resident Geoff Becker served as tactician and headsails trimmer for Odenbach, who won Race 6 and finished second in two others on the way to totaling 43 points — six better than Darden.
Justin Damore worked the bow aboard Honeybadger, which posted single-digit results in eight of 10 races — an impressive accomplishment in a talent-laden, 48-boat fleet. It was the first J/22 world crown for Odenbach, a North Sails professional who was runner-up on two previous occasions.
What’s most remarkable is that Odenbach was a last-minute entry into the regatta. Just two weeks prior, the Rochester, New York resident claimed the J/24 World Championship that was held off Seattle.
“Geoff and Justin were amazing. We decided to do the event two weeks before it started and everything really came together,” Odenbach said. “We entered the event with the expectation of giving ourselves an opportunity to sail well. That expectation started to evolve as the week went on. All credit to my team, which was top-notch.”
Odenbach gave Annapolis and the Eastport Yacht Club high marks. Mid-October normally delivers steady winds on the Chesapeake Bay and that was certainly the case for this regatta as organizers got off multiple races all four days.
Competitors saw the full range of conditions and directions with 8 to 12 knots from the south on opening day and 18 to 25 knots from the north-northeast on the second. There was a two-hour postponement on Day 3 to allow the breeze to fill in from the south and it did in the 6 to 10 knot range. Winds shifted back to the north on the final day and blew between 13 and 20 knots.
Odenbach referenced the often fickle conditions of the upper Chesapeake Bay and the fact many sailors dread doing major regattas out of Annapolis due to light, shifty breezes.
“I think I’ve won the majority of regattas I’ve sailed in Annapolis, so it’s a special place for me and the team,” he said.
Julian was the top local finisher, steering Yard Sail to a fourth-place finish. Matt Schubert called tactics and Colin Robertson worked the bow for Julian, who won three races on the way to totaling 60 points — just three astern of third-place skipper Will Welles.
Yard Sail displaced superb boat speed in notching the three bullets along with a second and a third. However, Julian was forced to count a 17th and a 22nd, two results that kept him off the podium.
Julian, Schubert and Robertson have been doing major regattas in the J/22 class together since 2012 and their chemistry and cohesion was on display.
“Since we’ve sailed together as a team for a long time our key strengths are speed, changing modes through the range of conditions and boat-handling,” Julian said. “Because of this, we can really focus on big-picture strategy and tactics, which Matt and Colin are exceptional at doing.”
On the down side, Julian said Yard Sail spent considerable time in the boatyard getting its 20-year-old bottom redone. As a result, the team did not get as much practice time as planned and that led to some poor starts.
Julian said the Yard Sail team endured plenty of drama during the regatta beginning with a broken main halyard that forced a withdrawal from Race 3. They had to haul the boat and drop the mast to install a new halyard.
Yard Sail was tied up at the dock the next morning when it was hit by another competitor and had a 10-inch hole poked into the starboard bow. The crew taped up the damage then promptly went out and won the opening race that day.
Yard Sail was within two points of the lead after winning the ninth and penultimate race, but committed a foul and wound up finishing 17th in the final race. This marked Julian’s fifth time competing at J/22 World Championship and his third top-five finish.
Julian, who was runner-up at the 2013 worlds held off Newport, Rhode Island, received a special award as the top Corinthian entry in Annapolis.
“In addition to being the top local boat, we are especially proud of being the top amateur team,” he said. “The three teams that finished ahead of us had at least two professionals onboard.”
Jeff Todd, one of the most successful J/22 skippers on the Chesapeake Bay and East Coast, placed sixth. Chip Carr was tactician and Chris Ryan was foredeck crew aboard Hot Toddy, which won Race 3 and notched three other top five finishes.
That team has been together for 20 years and operates like a well-oiled machine. Todd and company have been runner-up at the world championships twice — 2016 in Kingston, Canada and 2018 here in Annapolis.
“We have great crew work and great communication,” Todd said. “I held the team back with some bad starts, but we dug out somehow and tried to work the correct side of the course.”
Todd also offered high praise for Robinson, principal race officer Mark Foster and Eastport Yacht Club race committee representative Jeff Borland.
“The Eastport Yacht Club did a great job hosting the world championship regatta. From Monday’s boat measurement and registration until Saturday’s haul out, the regatta was well run and coordinated,” Todd said. “The after race parties were well attended and a great way to wind down. There was a debrief each day with competitors sharing information.”
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