Despite a promising start of two third places for Ireland's newest European sailing champions at this week's J24 World Championships, the Irish 'Headcase' crew suffered a setback on the final race of the opening day at Nautical Club Thessaloniki, Greece, when they scored a 'UFD'.
The Cillian Dickson-led Corinthian crew are the sole Irish entry in the ten-nation event and are lying 11th overall in the 35-boat fleet.
UFD means U-Flagged - a ruling where a boat is deemed to have prematurely started a race that is started under “U” Flag and is disqualified from that race and awarded the maximum number of points unless that race is subsequently restarted.
In a thrilling race to the finish, American sailor Keith Whittemore's boat 'Furio' held on to a narrow lead to emerge victorious in the first three races of the J/24 Class World Championship. The Championship, which marks the 45th anniversary of the event, saw sailors compete in ideal conditions of 8-10 knots and bright blue skies. The event was hosted by the Nautical Club of Thessaloniki in Greece and saw 35 boats participate, representing Argentina, Australia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, and the United States.
Despite a strong start by Italian sailor Ignazio Bonanno's boat 'La Superba', which won the first race with style, Whittemore's 'Furio' soon took the lead, with two second-place finishes and a first-place finish in the final race. Bonanno's 'La Superba' held on to second place with 11 points, while Alexandros Tagaropoulos's 'Hellenic Police' of Greece came in third overall at 16 points, also topping the 20+ boat Corinthian division.
Dickson's 'Headcase' may have had an opening day setback, but he has already proved his mettle by winning the J/24 European Championship in Hungary just two weeks ago, as Afloat reported here.
Tony Parker's 'Bangor Packet' of the USA won the second race, with Whittemore and Dickson again runners-up.
Racing continues until Saturday. Results below.
