Today at the /22 Midwinter Championship, when the winds piped up to 16 to 24 knots, Mike Marshall’s Bad News rose to the top of the twenty-six boat fleet to get the title. With crew Matt Schubert and Mike Nicoletti, the Newport, RI-based helmsman got the win with a 2,1,2 in Sunday’s blusterous 3 races to total twenty net points.

Of the 3 yachts within 1 point of 1st place going into today, Marshall not one of them but the team showed in the conditions in spite of being about seventy pounds under Class crew weight limit. Terry Flynn’s Tejas got the 2nd spot with twenty-two points, and Jeff Todd’s Hot Toddy took 3rd with twenty-four.

Fort Walton Yacht Club, located in Fort Walton Beach, Florida arranged the 3 day event (from 18th to 20th March, 2016) which was backed by Greece Yacht Charters.

Bad News ran into a bit of bad luck on the first day when a huge shift at the end of the only race left them with a tenth place end. The second day brought average conditions where, Marshall told that he believes that the lightness of their boat hurt them, and they had to fight for each point. When many yachts struggled in Sunday’s heavier air, Marshall told that the team took around half of the 1st upwind leg to figure that they required easing the jib a little more than they thought earlier.

Matt Schubert was also credited by Marshall for making some important calls on where to go. Recalling that most of Sunday’s beginnings saw them off the line in the top 5 yachts, the team still had to fight to select yachts and make up the 4 point deficit they began the day with.

Marshall told that by a little forward off the beginning, they could select their very own destiny. Yachts they did not pass upwind, they were able to catch up with downwind. The last race they played a covering game. He added that they loved this class.