Thanks to Brad Julian for this report:
The 2023 J/22 & J/24 East Coast Championships (ECCs) were an event to remember, featuring wet and wild conditions that will be discussed for quite some time. The regatta was hosted by Severn Sailing Association (SSA) from Friday, October 20 to Sunday, October 22. The J/24 fleet sailed all three days, while the J/22 fleet sailed on Saturday and Sunday. The event attracted 20 different J/22 teams to register, seven of which hailed from out-of-town locations, ranging as far south as Atlanta, GA, as far north as Bristol, RI, and as far west as Minnetonka, MN. A cold front descended on the region in the early hours of Saturday morning, bringing low temperatures and heavy, puffy and shifty wind conditions from the Northwest. By the time racing began on Saturday, average wind speeds exceeded 23 knots, with gusts consistently exceeding 30 knots. The dedicated team of volunteer Race Committee officials from SSA set a course at the mouth of the Severn River, with the windward mark just under Greenbury Point. Three races were completed for the J/22 fleet on Saturday, that put boat handling, tactics and equipment to the fullest of tests. There were several knockdowns and multiple capsizes, including our own team capsizing three times before the event was over. By the end of racing on Saturday, Aden King’s Rhythmic Pumping, with teammates Jeff Sullivan and Billy Farmer, was in the lead with 7 points, while I, Matthew Schubert and Colin Robertson trailed by 1 point on Yard Sail in second place, followed by Jeff Todd on Hot Toddy with Chip Carr and Chris Ryan in third place.
Following a lively tent party on Saturday night at SSA featuring traditional Maryland crab soup, fresh oysters, silent auctions and more organized by regatta chair Kelly Fitzgerald, Sunday brought no relief and delivered similar conditions as Saturday. Aden King started Sunday off strong with a first-place finish in the first race of the day and extended his lead. Feeling the pressure, we knew we had to sail cleanly and work hard. We had good starts, connected with the puffs and shifts upwind and stayed upright downwind, enabling us to win the second race of the day and finish second in the final race behind Chris Doyle from Youngstown, NY, a seasoned veteran in the Class with multiple Championships under his belt, who sailed The Jug 4 1.
After a total of six races, with one drop race, the top five finishers were:
- Brad Julian / Matthew Schubert / Colin Robertson – Yard Sail – 8 points
- Aden King / Jeff Sullivan / Billy Farmer – Rhythmic Pumping – 15 points
- Chris Doyle / RJ Moon / Peter Doyle – The Jug 41 – 15 Points
- Jeffery Todd / Chip Carr / Chris Ryan – Hot Toddy – 16 points
- Mike Gemperline / Abby Cook / Jimmy Kennedy – Defiance – 19 points
Full results can be found at https://yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=16039.