2017 Melges 20 U.S. National Championship - Day 2 - Newport long haul

by Melges 20 on 19 Aug 2017 The sunny skies on Day One of the 2017 Melges 20 U.S. National Championship hosted by Sail Newport were replaced with low flying southerly squalls and an on-time 1100 start. PRO Anderson Reggio sent the fleet to the 'inside' Halfway Rock racecourse for what would be a very exciting, four-race day of Melges 20 sailing.

After a nice sleigh ride down to the racecourse, racing began on time with a slightly pin-favored line and a slack tide that left the fleet guessing as to which side would pay on the first upwind beat. What would turn out to be a consistent theme throughout the day, teams that were able to extend to the far left side hooked into steady left-hand breeze and sailed a much more favorable angle to the mark than those who tacked to leeward. Showing a return in top-form, 2014-2015 Class World Champ John Kilroy on Samba PA TI took the bullet in Race Three, followed by his son Liam on Wildman. Overnight leader Drew Freides on Pacific Yankee came third.

With a full flood tide prior to the start of Race Four, teams that were able to touch into the left side of the course first, showed patience, took advantage and made big gains. For most of the race, Jason Michas and his team on Midnight Blue showed consistent speed and smarts to lead. However on the final run, Michas gybed early allowing both Kilroy and Freides to advance and finish one, two. Michas was left to settle for third.

For the first time on Day Two, the breeze began to taper and rain clouds formed on the horizon while the breeze touched the 9-10kt range. Teams made a mad scramble to adjust their rigs in preparation for the next start. The bottom right side of the course finally showed signs of promise, but those who were able to get farthest left at the top were none other than the event leaders. Going for a 'picket fence' scoreline, the elder Kilroy worked his way to the front and hung on again for his third bullet of the day, followed by Friedes and Michas finishing second and third respectively.

Heading into the last race of the day, rain squalls moved through with Reggio determined to run another heat. The breeze was the lightest it had been all day and it looked like a toss up as to which side would pay as teams that got right early looked strong. Rob Wilber and his Cinghiale team however, snuck to the deep left, hooked into some nice breeze and managed to lead at the top mark. On the ensuing run, the breeze built quickly and those that gybed early got punished. Freides showed solid patience extending to the corner, eventually hanging on for the win. Not far behind was Liam Kilroy and Jason Michas.

After a pounding rain on the way back to the dock, the fleet regrouped at Sail Newport to enjoy refreshments and discuss what worked well and what didn't.

Two more races are scheduled for the final day and if forecast predictions are correct, the race course will head back outside to determine who will be the next 2017 U.S. Melges 20 National Champions.

Special thanks to goods provided by Farmer Willies Ginger Beer and BoatBrim.

Top Five Results (Preliminary - After Six Races, One Discard)

1.) Drew Freides, PACIFIC YANKEE; [4]-1-3-2-2-1 = 9
2.) John Kilroy, SAMBA PA TI; [5]-2-1-1-1-5 = 10
3.) Liam Kilroy, WILDMAN; 2-[8]-2-3-6-2 = 15
4.) Jason Michas, MIDNIGHT BLUE; 3-5-4-[7]-3-3 = 18
5.) Vladimir Prosikhin, NIKA; 1-7-[11]-6-7-6 = 27

Top Five 2017 Melges World League Results (After Ten Events)

1.) Igor Rytov, RUSSIAN BOGATYRS = 116 pts.
2.) Vladimir Prosikhin, NIKA = 72 pts.
3.) Achille Onorato, MASCALZONE LATINO = 64 pts.
4.) Krzysztof Krempec, MAG TINY = 62 pts.
5.) Rodney Jones, AUDI SUNSHINE COAST; 58 pts.
Top Five 2017 Melges World League, North America Results (After Three Events)

1.) Drew Freides, PACIFIC YANKEE = 57 pts.
2.) Liam Kilroy, WILDMAN = 49 pts.
3.) Rob Wilber, CINGHIALE = 46 pts.
4.) Igor Rytov, RUSSIAN BOGATYRS = 46 pts.
5.) Daniel Thielman, KUAI = 44 pts.

2017 Melges 20 National Championship - Preliminary Cumulative Results

Bow Sail Number Yacht Name Yacht Design Owner/Skipper Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Race 5 Race 6 T O Total National Championship Racing One Design Division Melges 20 1. 300   USA 300 PACIFIC YANKEE Melges 20 Drew Freides 4 1 3 2 2 1 [4] 9.0 2. 313   USA 13131 Samba Pa Ti Melges 20 John Kilroy 5 2 1 1 1 5 [5] 10.0 3. 311   USA 311 WILDMAN Melges 20 Liam Kilroy 2 8 2 3 6 2 [8] 15.0 4. 228   USA 228 Midnight Blue Melges 20 Jason Michas 3 5 4 7 3 3 [7] 18.0 5. 898   RUS 898 RUSSIAN BOGATYRS Melges 20 Vladimir Prosikhin 1 7 11 6 7 6 [11] 27.0 6. 414   USA 414 CINGHIALE Melges 20 Rob Wilber 8 4 7 4 4 9 [9] 27.0 7. 76   USA 7676 KUAI Melges 20 Daniel Thielman 9 3 10 12 5 7 [12] 34.0 8. 305   USA 305 Midnight Sun Audi Melges 20 Alexis Michas 7 6 5 8 8 16 [16] 34.0 9. 250   USA 250 OLEANDER Melges 20 James Wilson 6 9 6 5 19/DNF 10 [19] 36.0 10. 306   USA 306 TALISMAN Melges 20 John Bailey 14 10 9 14 10 8 [14] 51.0 11. 225   USA 225 Flygfisk Melges 20 Tom Kassberg 10 16 12 9 9 14 [16] 54.0 12. 15   ISV 1315 CRUZAN RHODE Melges 20 Timothy Pitts 12 11 8 13 13 11 [13] 55.0 13. 265   RUS 265 RUSSOTRANS Melges 20 Yurii Morozov 13 13 13 15 16 4 [16] 58.0 14. 280   USA 280 BOBSLED Melges 20 Bob Moran 16 14 14 10 11 12 [16] 61.0 15. 200   JPN 271 Gimlet Melges 20 Tamotsu Aritomo 11 15 15 11 12 15 [15] 64.0 16. 308   AUS 308 Dark Star Melges 20 John Bacon 15 12 16 17 15 17 [17] 75.0 17. 196   JPN 224 TEMPUS Melges 20 Koji Matsumoto 18 18 19/DNF 16 14 13 [19] 79.0 18. 227   USA 227 KINETIC Melges 20 Bob Hayward 17 17 19/DNS 19/DNS 19/DNS 19/DNS [19] 91.0