Texans Dominate World Championship The competition was fierce at the J/22 World Championship in Corpus Christi, TX, but Terry Flynn, Randy Borges and Paul Grenauer launched a comeback in the final race for the prestigious victory. Sixty boats competed in the international event, spanning nine races over four days from October 8-11. "This could have been one of the toughest regattas I have ever sailed in, in any class," observed Flynn. "The competition was quite deep. Any one of the top 15 was capable of winning the regatta." Following Flynn of Shore Acres, TX, Bill Draheim of Rockwall, TX took second and Ian Ainslie of South Africa came in third. Heading into the final race, Flynn found his team 10 points behind Ainslie, one point behind Rob Johnston and only four points ahead of Bill Drahiem. So what was the winning strategy? "We wanted to start near Rob. Up the first beat, we crossed ahead of Rob and were able to drive him off to the wrong side of the course and into bad air. We also needed Ian to have a bad race, which he did," revealed Flynn. If you were following the event through the live web updates from the race committee, you undoubtedly noticed the frequently changing leader board. Ainslie, Johnston, Scott Young, Marvin Beckmann, David Hudson and Mark Foster each took at least one bullet, keeping the points between competitors to a minimum. The boats that performed consistently well mastered the art of steering through the ever-present chop that dominated the race course. Flynn explained his team's strategy, "Because of the steep chop we had on one tack, we moved the jib lead further forward and eased the sail out more. We also carried the traveler higher and eased the sheet giving us more twist. Gaining height in these conditions was not as important as going fast forward. Low and fast always made the gains." Both Flynn and Draheim overcame geographical challenges in putting their teams together. Flynn's crew spans the states of New York, Rhode Island and Texas. Draheim's team sailed together for the first time just a couple weeks prior to the Worlds. "But (we) finished sixth in the six boat J/22 class, not a real confidence builder," admitted Draheim. "Because we knew we weren't going to sail as a team before the event, we needed experienced J/22 sailors. Scott Self did the bow and Jim Bookout did the middle, and they were flawless. Their past J/22 experience is extensive, just what we needed." With the high level of competition, Draheim would have gone home happy finishing anywhere in the top 10. "After the first two races, we knew we were going really well, so I wanted to be a little more conservative the rest of the regatta and capitalize on our speed," acknowledged Draheim. "My first conservative move was at the start of race three where I ran into the back of another boat, did turns and rounded the top mark in the 50s. What an idiot! We rallied back to 14th, but that put pressure on us for the rest of the regatta." Prior to the Worlds, Corpus Christi Yacht Club hosted the Southwest Circuit from October 5-6. Johnston ruled the waters during this four-race regatta, beating his closest competitor, Ainslie, by 19 points. The J/22 Class extends heartfelt gratitude to Mike McCutchon and Teri Ficken, regatta co-chairs, for organizing a wonderful event. Additional thanks are offered to the numerous volunteers, race committee and Corpus Christi Yacht Club. Congratulations on a job well done! Position Skipper and Crew From Total 1 Terry Flynn, Randy Borges & Paul Grenauer Shore Acres, TX 50 2 Bill Drahiem, Scott Self & Jim Bookhout Rockwall, TX 51 3 Ian Ainslie, Greg Davis & Charles Nankin South Africa 53 4 Rob Johnston, Stephen Andre & John Skiles Heath, TX 53 5 Greg Fisher, Jeff Eiber, Jo Ann Jones & Keven Eiber Annapolis, MD 64 6 Chris Doyle, Mark Sertl & Brad Lohr Kenmore, NY 66 7 Marvin Beckmann, Chris Klein & Scott Cheaey Houston, TX 73 8 Scott Young, John Bartlett & Gregg Plunkett Austin, TX 82 9 Bruce Mahoney, Mattia D'Errico & Brent Marsden La Porte, TX 83 10 Mark Foster, Farley Fontenot & Keith Fowler Ingleside on the Bay, TX 85 Copyright © 2003, USA J/22 Class