J/24 World Championship Finale Approaches

With nine of 10 races completed at the J/24 World Championship hosted by the Nautical Club of Thessaloniki in Greece, Keith Whittemore's Furio has yet to relinquish hold of first place. Posting scores of 1,3 Friday, the American team has 21 net points, nine ahead of Cillian Dickson's Headcase. This all-amateur Irish team leads the 23-boat Corinthian division. Four of the current top ten are fully amateur, also including Mais Stephan's Running Men, Tagaropoulos Alexandros's Hellenic Police and Balaz Tomai's Jbond.

Race eight began on schedule at 1500 local time, however was twice abandoned due to 30-degree wind shifts shortly after the start. When finally underway, Whittemore's Furio added their third victory of the Championship, ahead of Ignazio Bonanno's La Superba of Italy. La Superba holds the bronze position overall with 37 net points. Multiple teams suffered BFD penalties in race 9, but thriving was Dickson's Headcase taking line honors, plus Manolakis Antonios's Aurora–Spanopoulos runner-up and Whittemore third. 
Ten nations are competing from Argentina, Australia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan and the United States. Racing concludes Saturday for the 35 teams from four continents.