J/22 NAs: Glenn Darden’s Baby Doll Wins

August 2, 2023

Earlier this month 22 teams, split evenly Canadian and US, travelled to CORK in Kingston to battle it out over seven races. Glenn Darden’s Baby Doll, sailing with Willem Van Waay, Jackson Benvenutti and Min Min Kelly, have been crowned 2023 J/22 North American Champions. Darden is from Fort Worth Boat Club in Texas.

Able to discard a sixth from race one, Baby Doll pounded out only top three scores and took to the shores for the final race to let the fleet sort out the top group. Only two points separated places two through four, with Travis Odenbach’s Honeybadger taking the silver position (24 points), one ahead of Mike Gemperline’s Defiance sailing J/22 hull #16. This year marks the 40-year anniversary of the J/22.

 

SinC CORK J22 Results 2 400“There should never be a quiet moment on the boat; constant information was key from the front to the back,” summarized by Min Min Kelly. Added Willem Van Waay, “We had a sit-down talk after sailing the first day. How can we improve our game? We talked for a good hour on how to communicate clearer, our game plan, the rig, who to cover. Every start before the five-minute, we already knew exactly where we were at, our plan, our numbers, where to go and where we’re tacking. That was a big gain for our group.” Jackson Benvenutti confirmed, “Everyone was on the same page, asking the questions. Glenn lets us know when something needs to change. What would be better for you to know? Always being open and flowing with the communication, such as we might sail the boat a little different if we knew the rig was tight.”

The Race Committee moved up Sunday’s start by 90 minutes to maximize the final day of racing. Winds began around 11 knots, as Darden notched his third consecutive bullet. By race 8, won by Gemperline, the breeze faded to about 6 knots. Teams returned to shore for an hour and half, then headed back out on Lake Ontario for the final contest in 11 knots, won by Chris Doyle’s The Jug 4 1.

Complete results may be found at: https://cork.org/past-results/results2023/J22NAS/results.html.

SinC J22 Logo 400

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Related Articles

Video Gallery

Boston Whaler 350 Realm

By Andy Adams

You might be dreaming of an adventure boat, or a luxury cruiser, or maybe a serious fishing platform. You might dream of an overnight exploration boat, or a boat that entertains a big group of friends or family. Whatever your ambitions, the features and appointments, and the stellar performance of the Boston Whaler 350 Realm, equipped with triple Mercury Verado V10-cylinder 425 horsepower engines, feels like it could do just about anything. It’s the Great Entertainer.

Read More

Destinations

The Whitsunday Islands

By Mathew Channer

On my first day as a commercially registered yacht captain, I sailed a Fontaine Pajot 38 catamaran from mainland Australia across the Whitsunday Passage to the western shores of the world-famous Whitsunday islands.

We cruised northeast on a 15-knot beam reach… perfect catamaran sailing conditions, watching the hazy shapes of the islands colourize and morph into crescent beaches, jungled ridgelines and rocky outcrops. 

Read More

Lifestyle