A slow start to the J/24 World Championship as sailors wait for wind

SEATTLE — Today kicked off the J/24 Worlds Championship sailing regatta, and for the first time, it was hosted in Seattle, Washington. Argentina, Australia, Japan, England, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, and more have all been previous hosts.

The J/24 Worlds was hosted this year by the Corinthian Yacht Club at Shilshole Bay Marina. It features five days of world-class racing with regional, national, and international level sailors, and has been held annually around the globe since 1982.

56 boats from 11 different countries will compete in a series of ten races over the next five days, featuring some of the world’s best sailors. Notable participants include 85-year-old G. Dennis Vaughn, a retired Navy Rear Admiral and Vice President of the U.S. J/24 Class, Kurt Dammeier, CEO of Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, and the Milne family, where dad Scott, son Ryan, and stepmom Shelby will all be racing against each other in three different boats.

There are also five teams of participants 25 years old and under, and three all-women teams competing.

The race was supposed to begin at 11 a.m. today, but unfortunately, the kick-off was delayed for over two hours because the wind - what little there was of it - was coming from the South, which is the wrong direction for this race.

At about 11:30 a.m., the wind did start shifting towards the north however, the delays meant the race didn’t officially start until 2 p.m., so crews filled their time with last-minute adjustments, like diving into the water for a hull scrub to make the boat faster, adjusting rigging, and strategizing.

Family and the general public can watch the racing on a Waterways Cruises boat chartered specifically for the racing or online at j24worldsseattle.org/how-to-watch.

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