Sailors from all around the world descended upon the palm trees, turquoise waters, and colorful foliage of Miami for the third event of the 2023 M32 Winter Series. The three-day event just closed in dramatic fashion after 14 races.
A big round of congratulations is in order for Jake Julienâs young Rated X team of Stephan Baker, Keith Swinton, Julius Hallstrom, Jeff McCooey, and Dave Gilmour. Rated X was certainly the team to beat after Saturdayâs racing, but with only a one-point margin ahead of Dan Chereshâs Extreme2, every Sunday point was going to count.
Winning todayâs first race extended Rated Xâs winning margin â but only until Extreme2 won Race Two, reeling in the young guns. The two boats were at each otherâs throats all day long. The grand finale was a classic who-beats-who between Rated X and Extreme2, tied at the top with 28 points.
Rated X played it cool and led the race wire-to-wire. 18-year-old Stephan Baker stepped in for Jake Julien on Saturday and Sunday. âI was offered to drive the boat for the weekend because Jake had to do a high school business challenge, so of course I took the opportunity,â said Baker. âIt was an unbelievable experience. I donât know how to pop champagne yet. Turns out I need to practice!â
The fleet saw three days of non-stop sunshine, warm weather, and a perfect big breeze that faded on the last day for a light wind finale. Dock talk will tell you Fridayâs conditions were the best of the year.
The silver medal goes to the ever-competitive Cheresh, M32 Class Vice President. New this year, the fleet races on Fridays in addition to the traditional Saturday/Sunday schedule. Fridayâs racing is structured more loosely, with crew and helmsman changes allowed and no owner/driver requirements.
Building their case for the Friday Cup series title was Dan Chereshâs Extreme2 who proved hard to beat in the 20-knot Friday breeze, posting a 2, 7, 1, 1 scorecard. They continued the heater into Saturday with two race wins alongside Morgan Larson, Scott Ewing, Mac Agnese, Luke Muller, and support team Lars Guck and James Cyigenza.
Rounding out the podium is Bobby Julienâs Dingbat team of Torvar Mirsky, Paul Campbell James, Nick Hutton, Mark Bulkeley, coach Morgan Reeser, and support team Franny Schulte and Kyle Kandt. Dingbat raced a highly consistent event in a fleet that normally sees lots of shake-ups.
Julien leads a group of three âJ Racingâ boats, him and his two sons. âIâm actually a new sailor,â says Julien. âMy first regatta ever was Fall of 2021. I tried the charter boat in the M32 fleet last spring, which was a whole nother level of fun. Iâm not going to go to the Olympics or anything: I just want to have a great time with some great people, and the M32 really fulfills that dream opportunity for me. The kids also love it â Itâs a whole lot of fun.â
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