Tweet
Fort Lauderdale, FL USA - A steady 15-20 knots of breeze and monster seas ushered in the first day of competition at the 2012 MELGES 32 GOLD CUP, hosted by the LAUDERDALE YACHT CLUB in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Italy's Roberto Tomasini Grinover's Robertissima 1 with Vasco Vascotto on tactics holds the overall championship lead after aquiring an impressive daily 2-2-1 scoreline. Eleven points behind and in second place, is Jason Carroll's Argo and tactician Cameron Appleton. Andrea Pozzi's Bombarda with Lorenzo Bressani as tactician complete the top three, one slim point behind Carroll.
Three races were completed with wind speeds not so much an issue as was the sea states. Big waves of 5-7 and occasional 9 footers across the course made for challenging conditions and great downwind rides.Race one winner, Joel Ronning on Catapult stunned the competition by taking the lead at the first top mark, then extending for the win. Tomasini Grinover grabbed a close second, while Carroll settled for third.
Lanfranco Cirillo's Fantastica came on strong to win race two, with Tomasini Grinover in second and Joe Woods' Red in third. The last and final heat of the day seemed to come easy to Tomasini Grinover as he stood steadfast and strong to win. Steve Howe's Warpath finished second and Pozzi came third.
Weather forecasts call for much of the same on Saturday where three more races will be conducted.
All imges ©Melges 32/ Joy
Current Results
elges 32
1. 111 SUI 1 Robertissima 1 Melges 32 Roberto Tomasini Grinover 2 2 1 5 9 2 [9] 12.0
2. 128 USA 128 ARGO Melges 32 Jason Carroll 3 7 4 4 1 1 [7] 13.0
3. 42 ITA 229 Bombarda Melges 32 Andrea Pozzi 8 4 3 1 5 3 [8] 16.0
4. 2 ITA 212 Fantastica Melges 32 Lanfranco Cirillo 9 1 6 8 2 4 [9] 21.0
5. 603 USA 32917 Warpath Melges 32 Stephen Howe 10 5 2 3 6 5 [10] 21.0
6. 12 USA 1215 Delta Melges 32 Dalton DeVos 4 6 5 12 3 11 [12] 29.0
7. 321 SWE 321 Inga From Sweden 3 Melges 32 Richard Goransson 5 13 12 9 4 8 [13] 38.0
8. 66 GBR 275 Red Melges 32 Joe Woods 15/DNS 3 9 13 11 6 [15] 42.0
9. 88 USA 2 Goombay Smash Melges 32 William Douglass 7 10 8 11 7 12 [12] 43.0
10. 134 USA 134 Catapult Melges 32 Joel Ronning 1 15/DNF 15/DNS 6 15/DNF 7 [15] 44.0
11. 74 USA 174 Leenabarca Melges 32 Alex Jackson 11 11 15/DNF 2 10 10 [15] 44.0
12. 11 USA 211 Arethusa Melges 32 Philip Lotz 13 9 11 7 8 15/OCS [15] 48.0
13. 15 USA 1315 Ninkasi Melges 32 John Taylor 6 12 10 14 12 9 [14] 49.0
14. 77 RUS 13 Synergy GT Melges 32 Valentin Zavadnikov 12 8 7 10 15/DNS 15/DNS [15] 52.0
