USA’s Furio Maintains Advantage at J 24 World Championship
Five of the scheduled 10 races are in the books at the J/24 World Championship hosted by the Nautical Club of Thessaloniki in Greece.
Thirty-five boats reveled in another gorgeous day of bright skies, warm temperatures and breeze of 8-12 knots. Two races were completed Wednesday, and now taking into account the discard. American Keith Whittemore’s Furio kept hold of the top position with 9 net points, following finishes of 4 and 7 on the day. After a victory in race four, a tough race five keeps Italian Ignazio Bonanno’s La Superba in the runner-up spot at 12 points. Cillian Dickson’s Headcase of Ireland posted a pair of fives to move into third overall with 16 points, able to toss a UFD from yesterday. They also lead the 23-boat Corinthian division. Another US boat, Tony Parker’s Bangor Packet, is only one point off the podium at 17 points.
Bonanno’s La Superba racked up their second bullet of the Championship to start Wednesday, Parker’s Bangor Packet added another silver and Mais Stephan’s Running Men of Germany took bronze. Balaz Tomai’s Jbond of Hungary led the fleet home to close the day, along with Sotiriou Stelios’s Jmania of Greece and Kohei Ichikawa’s Gekko Diana of Japan.
The Nautical Club of Thessaloniki hosted their gala dinner for crews in the evening. Ten nations are competing from Argentina, Australia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan and the United States. Racing continues through Saturday.
