Host San Diego Yacht Club won the seventh edition of the Women’s J/22 Invitational held February 15-16 in San Diego, CA. Twenty-four teams from across the USA, Canada and Mexico competed in J/22s, with the home club nipping defending champion California Yacht Club by a half-point, with the 2023 winner New York Yacht Club in third. The winning team was Rebecca McElvain with crew Erika Barth and Julie Mitchell. The Women’s J/22 Invitational Regatta began in 2018, as a grassroots women’s event in the club-owned J/22s with the hope of establishing a prominent regatta for women sailors, attracting women of all ages and across generations. In 2022, the regatta won the US Sailing One Design Regatta Award. The format is a two-day round-robin-type event; with teams rotating boats after each race and giant inflatable flamingos standing in for “normal” windward and leeward race marks. Each 10-minute race has a four-boat fleet start, with the object being to race as many races in Stage 1 as time and wind allow for on the first day and a half of the regatta. On day two, the top 12 teams are split into Gold (1st-6th) and Silver fleets (7th-12th place). Stage 1 finalists carry over a race win total bonus into the final. Each fleet sails three to five races to complete the regatta, and the winning team is crowned. The regatta has grown into a highly competitive international event while remaining true to its roots. Limited to 24 teams, teams must apply for acceptance to compete. Clubs require a qualification sail-off event to select a team to apply. The regatta continues to grow in popularity with a waiting list of 12 teams this year. The breeze kicked in on day one after a short postponement, and the short racecourse was quickly established. Support crew helped with the quick turnaround on the dock, meaning that the race committee, led by Becky Ashburn, was able to crank out 45 races with little delay. The protest committee was kept busy, hearings administered by Kim Kymlicka with 3-minute justice. At the end of the first day, the San Diego, Bristol and New York teams led with the lowest average points. At the end of the first day, the flamingos had gained hats and leis, the mimosa bar had run dry, and the San Diego, Bristol and New York teams led the fleet with the lowest average points. Saturday night’s competitors’ dinner gave teams a chance to unwind together with karaoke and dancing. A longer shoreside postponement on the second race day meant that teams would groan at commentator Craig Leweck’s jokes. Luckily the wind turned on, and despite a lighter forecast, shifty winds of 15 -17 knots arrived. Twenty more races were completed in the opening series before the top 12 competitors were split into gold/silver fleets for a 3-race Finals. The spectator section cheered as Santa Barbara Yacht Club, who entered the Petite Finals in the last position, won the first two races and came out on top in the Silver Fleet. SDYC skipper, Rebecca McElvain, with crew Julie Mitchell and Erika Barth, entered the Gold fleet first, but California and New York Yacht Club, both previous winners of this event, were right on their heels. A different team won each race in the gold round. SDYC was over early in race 2, finished the race in fifth, but fought their way to second place in the other two races. The final race began with just 1 point separating the top three teams. After battling the wind shifts across the course, Cal crossed the line in first, but SDYC was still half a point ahead and claimed the overall win. This was the first time the home team won the regatta, and the girls celebrated by jumping in the water just off the race docks. SDYC’s skipper, Rebecca McElvain was excited to be back in La Playa basin sailing around her old stomping grounds. Rebecca, Julie Mitchell and Erika Barth are no strangers to this course and were the champions of the Women’s Winter Preview in January, winning them the opportunity to represent SDYC in this weekend’s Invitational. Rebecca grew up in these waters and always appreciates the sunny winter sailing – something the East Coast teams don’t get this time of year. Competitors from Annapolis Yacht Club shared stories of sailing in the snow, breaking icicles from the boom, and trying to defrost the sheets before tacking.
GOLD FLEET
Winning the regatta overall was hometown girl Rebecca McElvain sailing for host San Diego YC. Her team’s record of 0.5-2-5-2 for 9.5 points was barely sufficient to win the event. Taking the silver medal just a half-point back with a 2-3-4-1 tally for 10.0 points was Derby White’s California Yacht Club crew. Then, a close third was New York Yacht Club’s Marly Isler with a 1-6-1-5 scoreline for 13 points.
SILVER FLEET
This group was won by Santa Barbara YC’s Lauren Bell, followed by San Francisco YC’s Lucy Wilmot in second place, and Rush Creek YC’s Mary Anne Hopper from Dallas, Texas in third place.
For more Women’s J/22 Invitational Regatta information, visit https://sailing.sdyc.org/racing/event/womens-winter-invitational25/.