J/24 World Championship at Wakayama Sailing Club, Japan - Overall
by Christopher Howell 23 Sep 2016 14:16 UTC
19-23 September 2016
Daniel Frost's JJOne is number one
Daniel Frost's German team of Timo Chorrosch, Felix Leupold, Jeronimo Landauer and Daniel Schwarze on JJOne placed 26th in race 7, putting the pressure on themselves going into race 8, the final of the 2016 J/24 World Championship in Wakayama Japan. With their previous 12-point advantage reduced to six, the team did not want to give up the lead they held since the very first race of the Championship.
After multiple general recalls, the last meeting started under black flag with just minutes to spare before the time limit, in 8 knots of breeze. JJOne needed to cover the nearest competition, and they did, finishing 10th in the final contest to lock in the Championship. Two Japanese teams took Silver and Bronze: Demichi Kousuke's Ichimokusan with 47 points and Keiji Kondo's Fox with 48 points.
"Today was a tricky day. We went in with a 12-point lead, and the first race went really bad for us," recapped Frost, who has been sailing with the JJOne team for five years. "The last race was very tricky as well. We found ourselves in front of our competitors, and we just sailed safe. We are incredibly happy. It's a very special day!"
The 41 teams representing Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Korea, Peru, Singapore and the USA started the day in fresh breeze but it fizzled near the end of race 7. Kato Fumiya's Lull won both races, followed by Naoto Kitazumeon's Maril and Stephan Mais's Running Men in Friday's first battle, and by Vladimir Borsthar's Singapore and Will Welles Cougar in the last race of the event.
Overall Results: (top 5)
1) Daniel Frost, JJOne, Germany, 34pts
2) Demichi Kousuke, Ichimokusan, Japan, 47pts
3) Keiji Kondo, Fox, Japan, 48pts
4) Vladimir Borstnar, Singapore, Singapore, 53pts
5) Urara Fujii, Kanaloa, Japan, 65pts
Complete event information is available at www.j24.gr.jp/2016_worlds.