J24 Midwinter Championship- Indian Harbor Beach, Florida

We opened our season at the J24 Midwinter Championships the last weekend of February. We last attended this regatta in 2019 and placed 18 out of 29 boats. Our goal going into this race was to build off the strong foundation we created last year, and we did just that.

We started our weekend a day early to guarantee that we would have the opportunity to clean and prepare the 2918 boat. The 2918 was lucky enough to spend its winter down in Melbourne, Florida after our 2019 Worlds last October. We spent the first day cleaning out the deck and hull, checking all the standing rigging, sorting through the sails and other gear. Our hard work got us ready, so we had very few things to do to prepare for the practice race. 

For this regatta we chose to race a five-woman crew, instead of our usual six. We had Jess Harris at Bow, Joy Martin at mast and downwind trimmer, Sarah Kent as tactician, Emily Carville at the upwind trimmer position and Erica Beck Spencer as the driver. We knew having only five women on board would present us with a few challenges. Two of these being less hands and less weight on board. Our strategy to combat this was better communication and stronger teamwork.

We sailed most races in 15-24 knots against some of the strongest competition we have seen at Midwinters. At least 10 of the teams we raced had also won a major championship, North Americans or Worlds. Each team in the lineup had the skill and speed to compete, making it an excellent series of races.

Each race our main focus was getting off the starting line with clean air and a good lane. We worked hard the first day back on the water to stay ahead and carried this intensity through the entire weekend. We ended Day 1 at a high point for us in 13th place. We finished the weekend in 20th overall and 10th place in the A (amateur) division out of 22 boats.

Off the water we couldn’t have been happier. The Melbourne and Eau Gallie Yacht Clubs went above and beyond to provide an excellent experience. This event was a great way for us to shake out the sailing cobwebs. We were able to set our goals for the rest of this year.

Up next is Charleston Race Week, follow along on our Facebook and Instagram pages for race updates and behind the scenes!