Dee Smith Wins 2022 2.4mR World Championship

Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, Florida, hosted the 39-boat 2022 2.4mR World Championship and Para Sailing International Championship on November 8-11. Hurricane Nicole interrupted the four-day series.

San Francisco native Dee Smith won the regatta. Dee scored first in the Disabled Division and was the top Grandmaster. His worst finish was a third, which he threw out to count all bullets. Smith was well known as a tactician, Whitbread racer and America’s Cup competitor. He survived lung cancer, but came away with damage to his spine. He now lives on the East Coast. Latitude 38’s Rob Moore profiled him back in 1998. Smith has been competing in the 2.4mR, a 13-ft, 8-in one-person keelboat, since 2015.

On Day 1, the race committee got in four races in anticipation of Nicole. The leading edge of the tropical storm dumped heavy rain on Race 4.

Although Hurricane Ian spared Tampa in October, the late-season Nicole did not. On Day 2 of the regatta, volunteers from DIYC helped to haul out all the boats.

The sailors launched again on Friday morning. They needed two more races to get a throwout. The first race started on time, but a line of thunderstorms developed suddenly and the RC shortened course after two legs. The boats returned to shore. In the afternoon, the boats ventured out to the course for Race 6. The final race followed a postponement for lack of wind and two general recalls.

See more information and check the full results at https://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=15018. Finland will host the 2.4mR World Championship in 2023.