Geoffrey Moore and Josh Yale, of Toronto claimed the 2023 VX One North American title in eleven of twelve races. Some might call it a clinic, some might call it a beating, but their 22-point win was unmistakable. Chris Alexander, John Bowden and Chandler Self were second overall and Jim Ward and Jackson Benvenutti the podium with 76 points. The championship event took place from September 27 to 30 and was hosted by Edgewater YC in Cleveland, OH.
“We’ve been working for this for a long time,” Moore said. “This has been a goal for about a year. We worked hard at it. I like to say that’s why we did well but everyone out there worked hard. We found a couple of modes that were just better.”
When it came time for racing, sailors were tested right out of the gate, with intermittent rain and shifty conditions challenging their mental strength on Thursday. Four teams claimed wins over four races but Moore and Yale sat at the top of the leaderboard.
In light winds the following day, race leaders swapped position leg for leg in almost every race and a general recall in the third race of the day led to the race committee using the U Flag. By the end of day, seven teams in total added UFDs to their scoreline. Moore and Yale extended their lead to 32 points.
While the forecast looked unpredictable for Saturday, race committee PRO Mark Foster, using Vakaros’ RaceSense and MarkSetBots was able to complete three races. Ward and Benvenutti were back for another race win before Moore and Yale led wire to wire and crossed the finish line with a healthy half-leg margin to secure their title in the following race. They then stepped aside to allow skippers Alexander and Ward to settle the rest of the podium.
Following the North American Championship, the VX One fleet is looking forward to a competitive three-stop winter series in Miami beginning November. Miami will also host the 2024 North American Championship where Moore is expected to defend his title.
