The “Yonder,” new world champion at the Sandberg Estates J/70 Worlds

After five intense days of competition in the bay of Palma, the American “Yonder” of Douglas Newhouse and Jeremy Wilmot was crowned world champion in the class on Saturday, September 21.

With a northeast wind averaging about ten knots, the race committee started the final race punctually at 11:30 a.m., which was won by the British “Brutus II” of Charles Thompson and Tom Mallindine, followed by the Spanish “Patakin” of Luis Albert in second place and the Brazilian “To Nessa” of Renato Faria in third.

The leader since the first day of the Worlds, the American “Yonder” of Douglas Newhouse and Jeremy Wilmot from New York YC, finished eleventh, which was enough to clinch the championship and become the new and shiny J/70 world champion. They won with a ten-point lead over the second-placed team, accumulating two partial podiums in the eight races held and discarding a 23rd. Consistency and avoiding major mistakes were undoubtedly the keys to the Sandberg Estates J/70 Worlds.

“After a lot of hard work, planning, training, racing, and teamwork, we managed to win the world championship, which is frankly incredible. We had the race of our lives and the team fought very hard,” Newhouse stated.

In second place on the podium was the Brazilian “Mindset” of Ralph Vasconcellos from IC Rio de Janeiro, while the defending champion, the British “Brutus II” from Royal Southern YC, finished third, rising from fifth place thanks to the first position secured in this final race of the Worlds.

In addition to the intercontinental title, the event organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palma and the International J/70 Class Association also recognizes the top finishers in the Corinthian divisions (non-professional crew), One Pro (only one professional sailor on board), Youth, Female, Mixed, and the best team with a woman at the helm.

In the Corinthian division, the victory went to the Uruguayan “Plan B” of Pedro Garra from YC Punta del Este. Following them in the overall standings were the Bermudian “Hedgehog” of Alec Cutler from Royal Bermuda YC and the Italian “Wanderlust” of Sofía Giondi from YC Rimini, finishing second and third, respectively.

In One Pro, the top finisher was the “Vamos” of Tim Ryan from Cruising YC Australia, who also achieved an impressive fifth position in the overall standings. Second place went to Mexico with the “Zaguero” of Ignacio Pérez from Vallarta YC, while third was the Portuguese “Baba II” of Nuno Espirito Santo from CN Cascais.

Meanwhile, the prize for the first mixed team went to the local boat “Balearia” of María Bover, the first youth team was the representative from the Netherlands “Moore DRV” of Sven Van Der Plasse from WV Wolphaartsdijk, the first female team was the American “Team Convergence” of Ava Wilson from Chicago YC, and the first crew with a woman at the helm was the also American “Dark Energy” of Laura Grondin from New York YC/GKPYC. Grondin's team also finished in fifteenth place in the overall standings.