On the morning of the final day of the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in St. Petersburg, sailors were pacing the docks of St. Petersburg YC in anticipation of a high-wind outing on Tampa Bay. A few classes and individual sailors opted to stay ashore, but those who did set out for ultimate races of the long weekend were rewarded with spectacular fast races and stories to share. J/70 sailors were chasing the hard-charging team on Al Minella’s Level 5, which won seven of 10 races to close the series with a 25-point win. Onboard Level 5 as tactician was reigning J/70 World Champion Jeremy Wilmot, and Minella’s team were indeed at another level. “We’d won it before the last race so we went at it as a learning experience for the next regatta, working on upwind driving and downwind sailing,” Wilmot said. “They’re fast so I didn’t have to do much on the tactics.” Minella, who’s been sailing J/70s for years and has won plenty of hardware in the Class, picked up a few new pointers that had him faster in the weekend’s breezy conditions. “The thing was to heel the boat more than you think,” Minella said. “I’m trained to not let the boat layover, but you need the heel angle to get through the waves. The level of activity of these guys is constant. They’re making adjustments all the time.” Daniel Goldberg’s Bazinga! and Kelly Hansen’s 7th Heaven rounded out the top three for the 18-boat fleet.