2017 Melges 24 U.S. National Championship kicks off in Charleston

by U.S. Melges 24 on 4 Apr 2017 This weekend, for the third time in Class history, the U.S. Melges 24 Class Association (USM24CA) is excited to bring back its highly-coveted National Championship to Charleston, S.C., graciously hosted by the Charleston Yacht Club (ChYC) on April 7-9. This time however, it also collectively serves as Act 2 of the Quantum World Winter Series, and is Stage 1 of the 2017 NorAm Tour.

Charleston is an all-time Melges 24 Class favorite, not just because of its warm shoreside southern hospitality and progressive social scene, but also for its addictive one-design harbor racing elixir - relatively flat water conditions, plenty of breeze and current. 2017 is poised to serve up that magic concoction for three straight days, mixed with just the right amount of on-shore festivities and camaraderie.

National Championship Event Chair Randy Draftz, who also acts as Sperry Charleston Race Week Chairman, has been hard at work, carefully putting many of the parts and pieces into place to make this Nationals the best it can be. 'We've got a great fleet of Melges 24s for the Nationals - some new faces as well as some of the Class' veteran teams will be here with us. Most of the teams will also participate at Race Week too, so April will provided a lot of racing opportunity for this legendary sportboat. Regardless of the conditions, there should definitely be some fireworks on the harbor front throughout the month.'

'Thanks to Randy's great organizational skills, this event will be just as fantastic as Race Week itself,' said USMCA Vice President and Nationals Corinthian competitor George Haynie sailing Firewater (USA-687) based out of Tampa, Fla. 'Charleston is such a fun place to sail, which makes the trip all the way from Florida all the more worthwhile. My team and I are really looking forward to some fun times on- and off-the-water!'

Among the Melges 24 teams scheduled to appear in the overall division is seven-time National Champ Brian Porter on Full Throttle (USA-849), Travis Weisleder's Lucky Dog/Gill Race Team (USA-848) will feature recently crowned World Champion crew member and 2016 Olympian Dave Hughes as tactician, John Brown's Blind Squirrel (USA-547), Peter Duncan's Jigs in Space (USA-515), Wes Whitmyer Jr.'s SlingSHOT (USA-747), Bruce Ayres' Monsoon (USA-851) and Kevin Welch's Mikey (USA-838).

The all-amatuer sector is also taking shape. Thus far, ten Corinthian teams have qualified. Intense competition is a sure thing. Third runner-up in the Corinthian division at the 2016 Miami Worlds Decorum (USA-805) helmed by Hunter Ratliff will be present, as well as Atlanta's KC Shannon on Shaka (USA-801), Laura Grondin on Dark Energy (USA-738), Frank Davenport on WILDGoose (USA-736), and the very youthful entry of Jay Greenfield on Old School (USA-491).

Registration and measurement all take place on Thursday followed by some live music and dinner at ChYC for the Melges 24 fleet. PRO Hal Smith will be in charge of the fleet starting on Friday, and concluding on Sunday.

2017 Melges 24 U.S. National Championship - Current Entries

S/N	Yacht Name	Owner's Name	Home Port	Yacht Type	Length
1.	USA 526	3 1/2 men	Steve Suddath	Jacksonville, FL, USA	Melges 24	24
2.	USA 419	Apex	Kent Picknell	Crestwood, KY, USA	Melges 24	24
3.	USA 34	Bad Idea	Scot Zimmerman	Traverse City, MI, USA	Melges 24	24
4.	USA 547	Blind Squirrel	John Brown	Philadelphia, PA, USA	Melges 24	24
5.	USA 77	Bones (Corinthian)	Robert Harf	Sonoma, CA, USA	Melges 24	24
6.	USA 738	Dark Energy (Corinthian)	Laura Grondin	West hartford, CT, USA	Melges 24	24
7.	USA 805	Decorum (Corinthian)	Hunter Ratliff	Chicago, IL, USA	Melges 24	24
8.	USA 575	EX-KAHN (Corinthian)	Brent McKenzie	Flowery Branch, GA, USA	Melges 24	24
9.	USA 687	Firewater (Corinthian)	George Haynie	Tampa, FL, USA	Melges 24	24
10.	USA 9	FNG/Eelsnot (Corinthian)	Zane Yoder	Daphne, Al, USA	Melges 24	24
11.	USA 849	Full Throttle	Brian Porter	Fontana, WI, USA	Melges 24	24
12.	USA 201	JACK Mormon Coffee	Mossman/ Hutchinson	Mt Pleasant , SC, USA	Melges 24	24
13.	USA 515	Jigs in Space	Peter Duncan	Rye, New York, USA	Melges 24	24
14.	GER 624	Kleine Rainbow	Bent Dietrich	Hamburg, GER	Melges 24	24
15.	USA 121	Le Coq	Thomas Roop	Traverse City, MI, USA	Melges 24	24
16.	USA 848	Lucky Dog / Gill Race Team	Travis Weisleder	Richmond, VA, USA	Melges 24	24
17.	USA 838	MiKEY	Kevin Welch	Anacortes, WA, USA	Melges 24	24
18.	USA 851	Monsoon	Bruce Ayres	Newport Beach, CA, USA	Melges 24	24
19.	USA 587	OBSESSION	Gary Schwarting	Naples, FL, USA	Melges 24	24
20.	USA 491	Old School (Corinthian)	Jay Greenfield	Charleston, SC, USA	Melges 24	24
21.	USA 801	Shaka (Corinthian)	KC Shannon	Fayetteville, GA, USA	Melges 24	24
22.	USA 747	SlingSHOT	Wes Whitmyer Jr	Stamford, CT, USA	Melges 24	24
23.	CAN 811	TBA	John Sherlock	Port Credit, ON, CAN	Melges 24	24
24.	GBR 691	Team Barbarians (Corinthian)	Stuart Simpson	London, London, GBR	Melges 24	24
25.	USA 825	Warcanoe	Michael Goldfarb	Seattle, WA, USA	Melges 24	24
26.	USA 820	West Marine Rigging	Bora Gulari	Detroit, MI, USA	Melges 24	24
27.	USA 736	Wild Goose (Corinthian)	Frank Davenport	Williams Bay, WI, USA	Melges 24	24