{"id":82420,"date":"2025-07-27T20:20:06","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T00:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=82420"},"modified":"2025-07-28T15:08:56","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T19:08:56","slug":"texans-win-caribbean-championship-berth-at-marblehead-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/regatta-series\/texans-win-caribbean-championship-berth-at-marblehead-classic\/","title":{"rendered":"Texans Win Caribbean Championship Berth at Marblehead Classic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Brad <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Brad Tindall, on the helm, gets TnT<\/i> around the racecourse in winning form. The J\/105 team’s class win earned them the Caribbean Championship berth.<\/span>\n Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

FINAL RESULTS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

REGATTA PHOTO GALLERY<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final day of the 2025 Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series at Marblehead Race Week presented eager sailors with challenging conditions as morning rain showers gave way to lumpy seas and shifting winds. With many class leaders sitting on razor-thin margins, the day promised more intense racing as teams fought to make last-minute moves up the leaderboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For veteran local sailor and yacht designer Jim Taylor and his son Nat, the final day of Race Week proved to be as mentally challenging as it was physically demanding. At 76 years old, Jim Taylor found himself facing four grueling days and eleven races with no throwouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Rhodes <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Nat and Jim Taylor working their magic en route to a Rhodes 19 class win.<\/span>\n Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Entering the final two races with a slim lead, the Taylors faced stiff competition from rivals Larry Ehrhardt and George Malcomson, and Adam Roberts with Dan Rabin on Peppermint<\/em>, their toughest competitors from the start of Race Week. The morning\u2019s first race nearly washed away the Taylors\u2019 lead when they found themselves on the wrong side of a big wind shift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe ended up on the pin third of the line, which wasn\u2019t bad when it got really rough and the wind was right,\u201d Taylor says. \u201cBut as soon as the showers passed, the wind went hard left. We right, and that\u2019s how things go. Not our finest moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding themselves deep in the fleet, the Taylors managed to work their way back to a tenth-place finish\u2014a save that would ultimately preserve their chance at overall victory. The second race was a nail-biter, with the Taylors finishing third by mere feet in what Taylor described as \u201creally, really close\u201d\u2014a margin that earned them their 1-point win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne point would have flipped it because Larry would have won the tiebreaker,\u201d Taylor says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Javelin <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Bill Widnall’s Javelin<\/i>, keeping pace as the wind drops on the final day of the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series at Marblehead Race Week.<\/span>\n Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

The lumpy conditions made sailing particularly challenging for not just the Rhodes 19s but all the fleets. Several teams had tuned their rigs for the morning\u2019s strong winds, but then found themselves struggling for power when the breeze dropped off dramatically after the first start of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt got lumpy from the rain squall when it blew hard for a while. It was probably in the high teens briefly, and it kicked up a pretty big chop and that stayed around when the wind dropped off completely. Rhodes 19s don\u2019t really like that\u2014that\u2019s not their thing at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Viper <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Viper 640s off the start on the final race day in Marblehead.<\/span>\n Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Despite the challenges, the father-son team\u2019s experience and adaptability paid off. Jim, however, was quick to credit his son Nat\u2014recognizable on the course in his lucky Celtics jersey\u2014for their success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m the old slow guy on Nat\u2019s foredeck,\u201d Taylor says. :\u201dHe\u2019s really, really good. He\u2019s really good on the starting line in a way that I never was and certainly am not anymore. Full credit to Nat, actually. He makes this happen. I\u2019m sort of there along for the ride.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Viper 640<\/strong> class, skipper Henry Amthor secured another win at Marblehead. Coming into the weekend \u201ctuned up\u201d and ready to compete, Amthor faced a tough fleet with several boats ultimately winning races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Viper class\u2019s top five is always very tight,\u201d Amthor says. \u201cEven the top 10 is very tight. Despite fewer boats competing this year, the competition was intense, particularly from Mike Michael Deyett\u2019s team on Prestige Worldwide<\/em>, from Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Nick <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Nick Cann and Andrea Dodge, Town Class champions.<\/span>\n Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

The two were tied heading into the final day, and as expected, they were keeping close tabs on each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen it got really light in the first race, we managed to get a little separation on him. And the shift went our way, and we just covered him to the finish,\u201d Amthor says. \u201cAnd then, in the last race, he was ahead of us again. And the second beat, we got a little bit away from him, and the shift went our way and got around him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amthor\u2019s team used the J\/70 fleet sailing ahead of them as indicators of wind patterns coming down the course. \u201cWe were looking at the J\/70s a lot, and they could kind of tell us where the velocity was,\u201d he says, demonstrating how experienced sailors use all available information on the racecourse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The variety of conditions throughout the weekend required constant adjustments and gear shifting. For the Viper 640 that means being active with mast chocks. \u201cWe\u2019re not allowed to touch the shrouds if the wind drops, but we can adjust the chocks, so there was a lot of that going on today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"J\/70s <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n J\/70s start their final race of the day.<\/span>\n Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

For Peter Duncan\u2019s team on the J\/70 Relative Obscurity<\/em>, the final day was about keeping close tabs on Bruno Pasquinell\u2019s Stampede<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had to stay close with them,\u201d says Jud Smith, the team\u2019s ace tactician. \u201cThey ended up beating us in the first race, but we were battling it out with them all the way around the course and crossed the finish line overlapped. So, we lost a point to them there, but they were really the boat we had to pay attention to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the day\u2019s first race, positioning at the start proved critical. \u201cThey were [committee] boat side, and they got ahead. The right was good on the early part of the beat, and then the left came in at the end, and we\u2019re kind of in the middle,\u201d Smith says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Joe <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n International 110 class winners Joe Berkeley and Linda Epstein.<\/span>\n Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Despite not having \u201ca great first run,\u201d they made up for it on the second upwind leg. \u201cWe had a really good second beat. We got going good and went the right way. A lot of boats went the wrong way\u2014and that got us right back into it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Smith, one of the most significant developments in his team\u2019s performance has been their improved mental approach to the J\/70 class\u2019s high-intensity racing. Racing this weekend was the usual squad of Duncan, Smith, Willem Van Waay and Victor Diaz de Leon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe good thing is when it gets bad, we don’t get rattled as a team,\u201d Smith says. \u201cWe got caught in the first race with the rig too tight and stuff like that, but we just deal with it and keep the racing close.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Conner <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Conner Godfrey, John Ring and Kim Rosell, Lightning Class winners.<\/span>\n Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

This calm approach to adversity paid dividends in the final race. \u201cWe got behind a little bit, but we came out of the second beat knowing just what we wanted to do, stuck with it and kept with that, and that was good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The talented crew\u2019s mutual trust proved to be their greatest asset, Smith adds. \u201cI think the big thing we\u2019ve probably gotten better at is just keeping our head together and trusting each other,\u201d he says. \u201cEverybody\u2019s so talented on the team that we just trust each other. That\u2019s been good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n