Jake Julien and Jen Wilson Lead the M32 World Championship on the Penultimate Day
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND (Sept. 30, 2023)
The M32 fleet has a new landscape. On the eve of the M32 World Championship finale, Jake Julien and Jen Wilson are in pole position with only four races left.
“I was nervous going into today. Definitely nervous now,” said 17-year-old Jake Julien. “We weren’t safe before, and we’re still not safe.” Julien has a seven point lead, and the leaderboard is anything but locked up. Julien and Wilson switched leads multiple times today in the overall standings. No matter what happens tomorrow, what’s clear is there’s a new norm here in the M32 fleet.
“We’re here to win,” said Wilson. “We’re here to show that girls can sail.” Wilson sails with her niece Ava Wilson, a senior at University of Rhode Island.
It’s a family affair with the dads tied for third: Don Wilson’s Convexity and Bobby Julien’s Dingbat each have 78 points. Don is Ava’s father (Jen’s brother), and Bobby is Jake and Miles Julien’s father. Only 15 points behind the leader, both Bobby and Don will be rumbling with a vengeance tomorrow.
15-year-old Miles and his YoungBlood team won the day today. “I think they had a nice view of our transom today,” jeered Miles at his older brother Jake. “There might be some brotherhood competition between them,” said YoungBlood tactician Carlos Robles.
“Four more races to go and the points are pretty tight, so it’s still anyone’s game,” said Jen.
RACE ONE: Don Wilson’s Convexity won the first race of the day in a dominating fashion; they didn’t give anyone else a chance.
RACE TWO: Larry Phillips’s Midtown Racing earned the win. Dan Cheresh’s Extreme² gave them a run for their money at the halfway point, but Phillips throttled through and came away with the win
RACE THREE: Like a déjà vu from last year’s World Championship, Extreme² and Convexity started the race neck-and-neck. But this time, Midtown gassed both of them then shut the door.
RACE FOUR: Bill Ruh and his Pursuit team had a fierce fourth race. They defended against the hard-charging brothers and took home yet another set of M32 Race Winner shot glasses.
RACE FIVE: Another runaway for Convexity.
Notice anything? Missing in all of the race wins are today’s top three characters: Rated X, Convergence, and YoungBlood. What a testament to the level of competition in the M32 fleet. “It’s really top notch. All the best sailors in the world are here,” said Jen.
“It’s never easy,” said Robles. “The pack is really strong, there’s no bad boats out there.”
The champagne will spray tomorrow. Who will be holding the bottle? Let’s find out.
Crew Lists
Bliksem
John Sommi
Victor Diaz de Leon
Will Ryan
Peter Kinney
Richard Sydenham
Cape Crow Vikings
Håkan Svensson
Sam Gilmour
Axel Munkby
Max Salminen
Jakob Wilson
Convergence
Jennifer Wilson
Ava Wilson
Will Tiller
Stewart Dodson
Adam Minoprio
Convexity
Don Wilson
Taylor Canfield
Kinley Fowler
Ricky McGarvie
Jake Lilley
Dingbat
Bobby Julien
Torvar Mirsky
Paul Campbell-James
Mark Bulkeley
Nick Hutton
Extreme2
Dan Cheresh
Morgan Larson
Mac Agnese
Scott Ewing
Luke Muller
Golddigger
James Prendergast
Nicholas Heiner
Ben Lamb
Leonard Takahashi
Dan Morris
Midtown Racing
Larry Phillips
Ian Williams
Rasmus Køstner
Malcolm Lamphere
Mark Spearman
Pursuit
Bill Ruh
Rome Kirby
Charlie Smythe
Cooper Dressler
Ed Powys
Rated X
Jake Julien
Keith Swinton
Rhys Mara
Julius Hallstrom
Jeff McCooey
Surge
Ryan McKillen
Phil Robertson
John Wallace
Sam Loughborough
Luke Payne
YoungBlood
Miles Julien
Carlos Robles
Rob Bunce
Moritz Spitzauer
Garth Ellingham
The International M32 Class Association is the fleet’s global governing body, dedicated to promoting and fostering competitive, high-performance, one-design racing across the globe in the Marstrom 32 catamaran. Comprising a worldwide community of passionate sailors, the Class is committed to upholding the standards of excellence, sportsmanship, and camaraderie. The Class organizes and sanctions regattas including regional and world championships. We encourage fair competition and foster a global network of M32 sailors united by their shared love for high-performance multihull racing. The Class is always welcoming new owners: Demo boats are available for charter at each event. For more information about M32 World, the boat, and regattas, please visit M32World.com.
Media Credits
Hannah Lee Noll · Story
Stephen R. Cloutier · Photo
Felipe Juncadella / Up Top Media · Video
