2025 J/70 Mixed Plus National Championship - Day 1 Recap

Race 1, looks like a few boats were excited to get started! Dennis Pearce photo.

It might be a mile to the weather mark, and four miles from start to finish, but the first day of the 2025 J/70 US National Championship Mixed Plus came down to inches and seconds. The CYC Seattle race committee and PRO Charley Rathkopf started the racing on schedule at 1300 in a light southwesterly breeze and tide turning to flood. Thirteen minutes and 36 seconds after the start of race 1, 'Yolanda' was first to the weather mark, followed by 'War Canoe', 'Dime', 'Rodeo Clown', and 'Mossy' all rounding before the raceclock hit fourteen minutes.

The place changes on the run were too numerous to catalog, and by the time the boats made it to the second weather mark rounding, it was 'Mossy', 'Yolanda', 'Dime', 'Rodeo Clown', 'War Canoe' and 'Riff' in hot pursuit. Even 40 minutes into the race, the leaders were still within a minute of each other. By the finish of the first race, the pattern of the contest was already emerging with the top five moving out from the pack. The finishing order of 'Mossy', 'Yolanda, 'War Canoe', 'Rodeo Clown', and 'Riff' all five would be the top five at the end of day one, with 'Riff' and 'War Canoe' tied with 11 points, 'Mossy' with 12, 'Yolanda' with 20 and 'Rodeo Clown' with 23.

Clearly, I should have included Doug Nugent's Team 'Yolanda' from Hood River in my handicapping!

BammBamm, Rodeo Clown, and Dime on the run. Dennis Pearce photo.

At 1530, the southerly started to drop off and everyone started looking north for the predicted northerly, but as has happened often this spring, the southerly not only hung on, but came back stronger. Charley did a great job recognizing the opportunity and kept the racing going well after the bar opened, starting the 4th race at 1720. Following the pattern of the day, the left paid on the first beat and those that got farthest left made out. 'Hygge' rounded first with 'Riff', 'Dime', 'Lift Ticket', and 'Yolanda' again separated by less than 30 seconds. The breeze held up for the rest of the race and 'Riff' won the final gun followed by 'Lift Ticket' and 'War Canoe'.

The forecast for today is for an earlier transition to the northerly, but maybe the computer model needs some tweaking and we will have a southerly all day again.

Dennis Pearce got some great photos. Check them out here.

Start of Race 1. Check out the Vakaros tracker.

Vakaros has it's tracker up and running and it is a great way to watch the racing. Check it out here.

More coverage on our event page here.