Quantum Sails J/24 class expert Travis Odenbach caught up with Team Siesta after the 2022 J/24 Worlds. Siesta was an awesome tuning and training partner throughout the event and ended up in 3rd place overall and 2nd place Corinthian after 10 hard-fought races. Learn a little more about the skilled sailors aboard Siesta and their J/24 Worlds experience.
Photo Credit: J/24 International Class Association
Name: Nobuyuki Imai
Boat Name: Siesta
Class: J/24
Crew Names: Daichi Wada, Bow; Fumiya Kato, Mast; Kosuke Demichi, Tactician; Taiga Nakagawa, Trimmer
Years In Class: 13 years
Hometown & Yacht Club: Wakayama Japan & Wakayama Sailing Center
Travis Odenbach (TO): Why did you choose this class and what do you like about it?
Nobuyuki Imai (NI): I love sailing with this team. Team Siesta has been sailing in the J/24 class for a long time – and our team members have about 34 years of experience together on various boats. I also like sailing small keelboats and J/24s are a popular one-design class with great sailors and fun and competitive regattas.
TO: What was the biggest challenge your team has faced, and how did you overcome it?
NI: It’s been challenging for us to prepare and train for the World Championship since the J/24 class isn’t popular in Japan. We’ve had to rely heavily on our own team, and make sure things we can practice with fewer training partners (like boat handling) are strong.
TO: What is currently your biggest challenge or most ambitious goal?
NI: We want to win the J/24 World Championship.
TO: What are you most looking forward to this season?
NI: To win both the World Championship and the Japanese Championship.
TO: How has Quantum helped you meet your challenges?
NI: It was a great opportunity to have Travis and Kris Werner as our sailing partners when we traveled to the US. It was great that we were able to share information with them and compete with them through the races.
TO: What are you most proud of about your team or program?
NI: The amount of time we spend practicing and preparing. Our team works really hard, and it paid off as we had good results in the overall and Corinthian divisions at worlds.
TO: How do you keep your team involved?
NI: All the members of our team work for the same company and we practice every weekend, so it’s easy to keep everyone engaged and involved. We have good communication and it’s easy to share information.
TO: What is the funniest or most embarrassing thing that has happened to your team?
NI: On the day we got to the US, someone on our team lost their wallet and had to deactivate their credit cards.
TO: What advice would you give a new team in the class or to other teams trying to succeed?
NI: All the sailors in this class are great. Meet new people and get advice from the other sailors. Everyone is happy to share what they’re learning and help everyone get better and faster.
TO: Any final comments?
NI: I would like to thank Mikino Togano for supporting us in Japan. I also appreciate Travis’ help especially since we were not in our home country for this Worlds. We had a lot of great experiences overseas.
For J/24 resources including the Quantum Sails tuning guide, check out the J/24 class page. Get in touch with a Quantum J/24 class expert with questions or to request a quote.