James Rathbun Earns J/105 North American Championship

James Rathbun of Toronto, Ontario led after day one of the J/105 North American Championship and never relinquished his advantage. He is now the 2013 J/105 North American Champion. With crew Mark Robertson, Dave Jarvis, Andrew Van Nostrand, Ian Richardson and Scott Collinson, Hey Jude tallied 6,3,1,1,1,4,5,2 for just 23 points in the eight-race series. Damian Emery’s Eclipse of New York placed second with 39 points, and local Cedric Lewis on Mirage came in third with 45 points. The event was hosted by Annapolis Yacht Club in Maryland. After racing was cancelled on Saturday due to lack of breeze, conditions allowed for three races on Sunday in winds between 12-16 knots. Jim Konigsberg’s Inigo won the opening contest, trailed by Emery and Lewis. Emery moved up to first in the next race, with Bruce Stone’s LouLou in second and Chris Groobey’s Java in third. Emery again took the bullet in the final bout, followed by Rathbun and Stone. The top 10: 1) James Rathbun, Hey Jude, 23 points 2) Damian Emery, Eclipse, 39 3) Cedric Lewis, Mirage, 45 4) Bruce Stone, LouLou, 56 5) Jack Biddle, Rum Puppy, 58 6) Ken Colburn, Ghost, 61 7) Stephen Phillips, Le Renard, 63 8) Hugh Bethell, Jester, 68 9) Michael Mountford, Live Edge, 96 10) Jim Konigsberg, Inigo, 102 27 teams from Bermuda, Canada and the USA competed in the event. Photos are available on the J/105 Facebook page.