Melges 24 Worlds

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RACE 1


Big win for Terry Hutchinson (37) on Rose Bud by42 secs

37 – Rose Bud – Terry Hutchinson
41 – Blu Moon – Flavio Favini
55 – Zenda Express – Harry Melges III
35 – WTF – Alan Field
01 – Audi – Richardo Simoneschi
29 – Rock n’ Roll – Argyle Campbell
18 – Altea – Andrea Racchelli
05 – Mikey – Jeff Madgiralli
48 – Maidollis – Giovanni Pizzatti
23 – Soffe 2 – Kim Christensen
60 – TBD- Matt MacGregor
46 – Full Throttle – Brian Porter
24 – Hedgehog – Alec Cutler
40 – Monsoon – Brucey Ayers

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Wind has softened considerably on the final leg of the race.

Now down to 8 - 10 knots so boats in soak mode.

46 held off the challenge from 05 to take the gun.

Final positions in Race 2:

46-Full Throttle-Brian Potter
05-Mikey-Jeff Madrigalli
36-Wilco-Doug Wilhelm
37-Rose Bud-Terry Hutchinson
41-Blu Moon-Flavio Favini
08-Embarr-Nathan Wilmont
21-Bandit-Warwick Rooklyn
18-Altea-Andrea Racchelli
43-EFG Bank-Chris Rast
24-Hedgehog-Alec Cutler
48-Maidollis-Giavonni Pizzatti
40-Monsoon-Bruce Ayers
34-Rodger That-Cameron Miles
27-West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes-Bora Gulari
01-Audi-Ricardo Simonechi
15-Viva-Donald Jesberg
49-Threebond-Tetsuya Matsunaga
35-WTF-Alan Field

First Corinthian 15-Viva-Donald Jesberg in 16th place.

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Images © Pierrick Contin /IMCA








http://melges24worlds13.com/


Overall Results Race 1

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Race 3 just under way!

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Top 16 After 2 Races

Division: Melges 24 (59 boats)
Pos Bow/Sail Boat Skipper 1 2
Total
Points
Pos
1 37/ 674 Rose Bud Terry Hutchinson 1 4 5.00 1
2 41/ 825 Blu Moon Flavio Favini 2 5 7.00 2
3 05/ 835 Mikey Jeff Madrigali 7 2 9.00 3
4 46/ 749 FULL THROTTLE Brian Porter 12 1 13.00 4
5 18/ 735 Altea Andrea Racchelli 8 8 16.00 5
6 01/ 840 AUDI Riccardo Simoneschi 5 14 19.00 6
7 36/ 540 Wilco Doug Wilhelm 17 3 20.00 7
8 48/ 822 Maidollis Giovanni Pizzatti 10 11 21.00 8
9 55/ 805 Team Windhover Harry Melges III 3 19 22.00 9
10 35/ 811 WTF Alan Field 4 18 22.00 10
11 24/ 655 Hedgehog Alec Cutler 13 10 23.00 11
12 43/ 740 EFG Bank Chris Rast 15 9 24.00 12
13 40/ 747 Monsoon Bruce Ayres 14 12 26.00 13
14 08/ 829 Embarr Nathan Wilmot 21 6 27.00 14
15 23/ 782 SOFFE 2 Kim Christensen 9 21 30.00 15
16 34/ 750 Roger That Cameron Miles 18 13 31.00 16


Full Results After 2 Races

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Breeze down to 8 knots on the final leg. 24-Hedgehog-Alec Cutler
did a great job of extending on the pack to take a 50 second win.

24-Hedgehog-Alec Cutler
23-Soffe-Kim Christensen
27-West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes-Bora Gulari
05-Mikey-Jeff Madrigalli
48-Maidollis-Giovanni Pizzatti
08-Embarr-Nathan Wilmont
26-Lounge Act-Loren Colahan
18-Altea-Andrea Racchelli
49-Threebond-Tetsuya Matsunga
15-Viva-Donald Jesberg
55-Zenda Express-Harry Melges
31-Miatech-Andrea Pardini
43-EFG Bank-Chris Rast

15-Viva-Donald Jesberg first Corinthian.

That's it for the day. Fleet and media team heading in.
Thanks to our Event Press Officer Justin Chisholm for the
keeping us up to date on the race course today.

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Embarr dances across the City Front with a nice little tribute to Bart Simpson

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Melges Words Day 1




The first day of racing at the Sperry Top-Sider Melges 24 World Championship 2013, hosted by The San Francisco Yacht Club in Belvedere, California delivered three excellent races sailed in bright sunshine and winds ranging from eight to fourteen knots.

All three races had different winners, with American Terry Hutchinson at the helm of Scott Holmgren’s Rose Bud taking the first race, fellow countryman Brian Porter on Full Throttle winning the second and Bermuda’s Alec Cutler on hedgehog victorious in the third.




Consistency was a hard to come by commodity throughout the fleet today and almost all of the top ten boats at the end of the day are counting at least one double digit score.

The exception to that rule was Jeff Madrigali at the helm of Kevin Welch’s American entry Mikey who managed a 7,2,4 score to lead overall tonight. In second with a 13,10,1 scoreline is Alec Cutler on hedgehog. Third by way of three eighth places is Italian Andrea Racchelli on Altea. Leader Madrigali sits on 13 points with Cutler and Racchelli tied on 24 points.

In the Corinthian (no professional sailors allowed) Division – who race with the main fleet but also have their results extracted separately – America’s Loren Colohan on Lounge Act tops the standings with six points after three races. Colohan is tied on points with second placed fellow American, Don Jesberg on Viva. Italy’s Andrea Pardini on Maitech lies in third place. The top three Corinthian’s sit in nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first in the main fleet with Jesberg leading this trio.

The first race of the day started in around seven knots and saw Madrigali round the windward mark in first, closely followed by Nathan Wilmot at the helm of Conor Clarke’s Irish entry Embarr in second with Hutchinson in third. Wilmot quickly dropped out of contention after having to do penalty turns soon after at the start of the first downwind leg. Hutchinson meanwhile held his nerve and his lane on the right to take the lead at the bottom end of the run after Madrigali had gybed away.




Once ahead, Hutchinson could not be touched and extended his lead throughout the rest of the race to finish over 40 seconds ahead of second placed 2013 Melges 24 European Champion, Italy’s Flavio Favini on Franco Rossini’s Blu Moon, who remarkably made up six places on the last leg. Third was Harry Melges III on Team Windhover.

After an initial general recall, the second race got away at the second time of asking in 12 – 14 knots of breeze. Madrigali once again rounded the first mark in the lead, this time with Brian Porter on Full Throttle close behind in second and Hutchinson in third. Porter got the better of the final couple of gybes into the leeward gate to lead at the start of the second beat.

Second placed Madrigali was in no mood to concede however and harried Porter mercilessly for the the rest of the race. Despite having Madrigali breathing down his neck for the last two legs Porter kept his cool to ultimately close out the win. Doug Wilhelm’s American crew on Wilco made huge gains on the last leg to snatch third from Hutchinson close to the line.




“It’s tough sailing out there, with a lot of great sailors and a lot of good boats.” said Porter afterwards. “It’s good to get a race win because it gives you a lot of confidence to be able to pull away from good boats.”

Clearly not wishing to break the pattern from the first two races, Madrigali yet again led at the windward mark in the third race of the day, after a dying sea breeze pushed the breeze on the first leg to the right. He rounded ahead of Corinthian Loren Colohan on Lounge Act in second and Alec Cutler on hedgehog in third. These three escaped a major windward mark scramble behind them which slowed the chasing pack and sparked a string of protest flags.

By the leeward gate Cutler had hit the front, with practice race winner Kim Christensen from Denmark on Soffe 2 moving up to second and Italy’s Andrea Racchelli on Altea had slid into third.

While Racchelli dropped to eighth on the next beat, Cutler continued to be chased by Christensen and these two rounded the final top mark in one and two – positions they maintained to the finish. Meanwhile Bora Gulari on West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes had moved up to take third.

hedgehog crew member Mike Wolfs said they had benefitted from a little bit of luck from a right shift on the first beat after a slow start. Having made that comeback Wolfs said a good hoist at the windward offset mark had given them a jump on the boats ahead. After that, Wolfs said delaying their gybe in relation to the leaders had given them the lead.

“We probably went another 100 to 150 yards and gybed and we were able to slowly sneak past them to leeward with a little bit more pressure on the low side.” he said. “We ended up rounding the leeward mark by a good 15 lengths.”

Three races into the scheduled 10 race series the consistency of American Jeff Madrigali on Mikey means he is the overall leader with 13 points. In second on 24 points is Bermudan Alec Cutler on hedgehog, who is tied on points with third placed Andrea Racchelli from Italy.

Despite topping the leaderboard at the end of the first day, Madrigali – a member of the host club – said he and his crew would nevertheless need to work on their downwind performance after conceding their first mark leads in all three races.

“A lot of that was tactical and mechanical,” Madrigali said. “I have sailed here my whole life and normally you get around the top mark and you are gone. Today though, the wind was quite spotty and there was a lot of pressure in different areas and tidal rips that were helping you upwind and hurting you downwind. We didn’t handle the downwinds very well and other boats did. We need to go to school on how they did that.”




In the Corinthian Division America’s Loren Colohan on Lounge Act emerged in first place having matched the six point score of second placed fellow American Don Jesberg on Viva. Italy’s Andrea Pardini on Maitech lies in third place just three points behind. In the overall standings these three are equally close: Jesberg sits in nineteenth, Colohan in twentieth and Pardini in twenty-first.

Second placed Corinthian Jesberg said he and his crew had been focused solely on their overall result and had been pleasantly surprised to find they were tied on points with first in the Corinthians. Nevertheless, Jesberg said he was a fan of the Corinthian Division at Melges 24 championships.

“It was a tricky day out there and we had to be concentrating on our place in the fleet,” he said. “Those of us who have jobs and careers and families that demand a lot of our time enjoy being able to score ourselves against a peer group.” he said.

Racing at the Sperry Top-Sider Melges 24 World Championship 2013 continues until Saturday 5 October. Three more races are planned for tomorrow and ten races are scheduled for the championship series.



Full Results

[IOR Geezer]

Nice to see Jeff still working his magic!

[Buzz Light Beer]

Go Madro!

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Breeze Up For Day 2 Melges Worlds




Light winds at the beginning and end of the second day of the Sperry Top-Sider Melges 24 World Championship 2013 meant only two races of the scheduled three took place. Happily, after around an hour’s delay, the breeze came on strong and racing took place in breezes up to 20 knots.

2013 Melges 24 European Champion, Italy’s Flavio Favini at the helm of Franco Rossini’s Swiss entry Blu Moon, revelled in the fresher conditions to win the fourth race of the scheduled 10 race series by a considerable margin. Second was American Bora Gulari on West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes. Another American, Brian Porter on Full Throttle took third.







Race five of the series was sailed in fractionally lighter and more patchy winds and saw Gulari go one better than in previous race, grabbing the lead on the first downwind leg and easing away to take a comfortable win. Gulari’s countryman Terry Hutchinson at the helm of Scott Holmgren’s Rose Bud took second and Denmark’s Kim Christensen on SOFFE 2 third.

Although the race committee tried to start a third race, a massive right hand shift in the final minute before the start saw that attempt called off and with the wind rapidly fading and becoming increasingly unstable, soon after they wisely sent the fleet ashore for the day.

An eighth in the second race was good enough to elevate Favini to the overall lead at the end of the second day. Gulari’s boat-of -the-day 2,1, performance sees him move into second place tonight, one point behind Favini and one point ahead of Hutchinson whose 5,2 score today puts him in third overall.







In the Corinthian Division (no professional sailors allowed) American Don Jesberg on Viva clocked up a 5,1, score to move into the Corinthian lead six points ahead of fellow US sailor Loren Colohan on Lounge act in second. Two points behind in third is Australian Kevin Nixon on ACCRU.

Competitors and the race committee were greeted by light and fickle breezes when they assembled at the Berkley Circle race area on San Francisco Bay this morning. An hour’s delay ensued before the regular San Francisco Bay southwesterly wind began to establish itself. When it came, it came solidly, building quickly to around 14 knots by the start and increasing to 18 – 20 knots during the race.







It took two general recalls and an I and Z flag combination to get the over-eager fleet away at the the third attempt in the first race of the day. In the process, several boats incurred 20 per cent penalties to be added to their overall scores.

Italy’s Flavio Favini at the helm of Franco Rossini’s Swiss entry Blu Moon put on an impressive performance in the breezy conditions, leading around the first mark and then making a big jump on the first fast downwind leg. Favini’s crew never put a foot wrong after that and at the finish they had pulled out a 90 second advantage over second placed American helmsman Bora Gulari on West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes. Another American, Brian Porter on Full Throttle was also clearly enjoying the ramp up in wind strength and turned in a rock solid performance to take third.

The second race saw the wind drop a little for the start but remain variable in strength across the course throughout. This time just one general recall was required before the fleet got away cleanly.

This time it was Gulari who made the best of the tricky conditions. After overhauling early leader Tetsuya Matsunaga from Japan on ThreeBond on the first run he sailed a canny race to hold his lead to the finish and chalk up his first race win of the championship.




American Terry Hutchinson at the helm of Scott Holmgren’s Rose Bud also got past Matsunaga and chased Gulari hard for the lead throughout, but in the end he had to settle for second. Kim Christensen from Denmark on SOFFE 2 moved up from sixth at the first windward mark to take third at the finish.

A valiant attempt by the race committee to start a third race of the day was quickly thwarted by a significant windshift in the final minute and with the breeze then becoming increasingly erratic, they wisely decided to send the fleet home for the day.

In the Corinthian Division (no professional sailors allowed) a fifth and a first for American Don Jesberg on Viva moves him six points ahead of fellow US sailor Loren Colohan on Lounge Act who could only manage a seventh and fifth today and now sits in second. Two points behind in third is Australian Kevin Nixon on ACCRU whose first and third makes him the Corinthian boat-of-the-day.







Five races into the potentially 10-race series just eight points separate the top five places in the main fleet. Favini’s 1,8, score today moves him into the lead by a single point from Gulari in second. Hutchinson is a further point behind in third, tied on points with Porter, whose sixth place comeback from a deep windward mark rounding in the second race leaves him in fourth tonight. in fifth, another six points back, is Christensen.

With such compression at the top of the leaderboard and two more days of racing still to go, the 2013 edition of the Melges 24 World Championship looks likely to remain too close to call right to the very end.

Three more races in the Sperry Top-Sider Melges 24 World Championship 2013 are scheduled for tomorrow, Friday October 4. The scheduled 10 race championship series concludes on Saturday October 5.

~ Fiona Brown~


Full Results

Selects Gallery

[Prince of Whales]

Yee-Haw!

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Melges Worlds Race 6

Posted on October 4, 2013 by ktnewman
Race 6 start away with individual recall for 27-West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes – Bora Gulari. Even spread along the line.

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1st Windward Mark

Sea state significantly flatter as windward
marks are less than a mile off the shore.

Leaders came from the middle right of the
first beat

Wind 15 - 16 knots.

Roundings:

08-Embarr-Nathan Wilmont
41-Blu Moon- Flavio Favini
05-Mikey-Jeff Madrigalli
01-Audi-Richardo Simoneschi
43-EFG Bank-Chris Rast
46-Full Throttle-Brian Porter
35-WTF-Alan Field
40-Monsoon-Bruce Ayres took penalty spin on offset leg
55-Team Windhover-Harry Melges
49-ThreeBond-Tetsuya Matsunaga
23-Soffe 2-Kim Christensen
21-Bandit-Warwick Rooklyn
37-Rose Bud-Terry Hutchinson

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Leeward Gate

Breeze down to 12 knots at bottom of the course -
marginal planing on the way in to the gate.

First three boats had established a big lead
going down first run.

Most of leading pack went right gate except
40-Moonsoon-Bruce Ayres and 49-ThreeBond-Tetsuya Matsunaga.
01-Audi-Richardo Simoneschi had trouble dropping gennaker.

08-Embarr-Nathan Wilmont
35-WTF-Alan Field
41-Blu Moon-Flavio Favini
40-Monsoon-Bruce Ayres
01-Audi-Richard Simoneschi
46-Full Throttle-Brian Porter
23-Soffe 2-Kim Christensen
43-EFG Bank-Chris Rast
05-Mikey-Jeff Madrigalli
55-Team Windhover-Harry Melges
49-ThreeBond-Tetsuya Matsunaga
24-hedgehog-Alec Cutler
48-Giovanni Pizzatti
18-Altea-Andrea Racchelli
21-Bandit-Warwick Rooklyn

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Race 9 Continued: 2nd windward mark:


Posted on October 4, 2013 by ktnewman
RC has signalled finish line moved to the right.

Roundings
08 -Embarr-Nathan Wilmot
35-WTF-Alan Field
46-Full Throttle-Brian Porter
01-Audi-Richardo Simoneschi
48-Maidollis-Giovanni Pizzatti
43-EFG Bank-Chris Rast
49-ThreeBond-Tetsuya Matsunaga
23-Soffe 2 Kim Christensen
05-Mikey-Jeff Madrigalli
24-hedgehog-Alec Cutler
40-Monsoon-Bruce Ayres

On the water updates from Event Press Officer Justin Chisholm

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Finish:

First two boats way in front of the chasing pack – almost 4 minutes ahead.

08-Embarr-Nathan Wilmont
35-WTF-Alan Field
Then:
46-Full Throttle-Brian Porter
41-Blu Moon-Flavio Favini
01-Audi-Richardo Simoneschi
48-Maidollis-Giovani Pizzatti
43-EFG Bank-Chris Rast
23-Soffe 2- Kim Christensen
40-Mosoon-Bruce Ayres
55-Team Windhover-Harry Melges
24-hedgehog-Alec Cutler
27-West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes-Bora Gulari

Breeze down to 9-10 knots and dropping more and becoming unstable.

RC may need to delay or even reset completely.
On the water updates from Event Press Officer Justin Chisholm

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Race 7

RC are in sequence for start of Race 7.

Wind 11 - 13 knots but patchy and shifty.

Sea state still lumpy from previous windier conditions.

Windward mark is at 040 degrees, range 1.5 miles

Course

P flag start

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Race 7 away with just one boat called OCS.

Fleet bunched to right hand half of start line.

Individual recall:

12-12happythoughts-David Brede