CSR Marine Melges 24 U.S. champs- Final race played fun and gorgeous

by U.S. Melges 24 on 10 Aug 2015 Congratulations to Brian Porter on Full Throttle and his Melges 24 team that included tactician Andy Burdick, Sam Rogers and Matt Woodworth. Together they are 2015 CSR Marine U.S. National Champions. It is yet another impressive win for Porter as this is his seventh time winning the highly-coveted title. A very emotional Porter accepted the top prize on Sunday afternoon stating that sailing at the Gorge was one of this best places in the world to sail a Melges 24.

Jeff Madrigali at the helm of Kevin Welch's Mikey claimed second, followed by Bruce Ayres' Monsoon in third.

In the Corinthian division, additional congratulations go out to Seattle-based Matt MacGregor on Good Enough, as he and his crew of Keith Hammer, Kati Belden, Genevieve Livingston and Ren Chandler are the 2015 CSR Marine Corinthian Melges 24 U.S. National Champions. Always pressing and clawing at MacGregor for the top spot, Mike Bond on Honey Badger came second while fellow Canadian competitor Duncan Stamper on Goes To Eleven finished the event third Corinthian. All three teams finished within the top eleven.

Sunday marked the final day of racing at the 2015 CSR Marine Melges 24 U.S. National Championship. Racing was scheduled to start at 1100, however when teams arrived at the course area, the Columbia River Gorge was like glass. In fact, many who have sailed at this venue before went on to describe the conditions as very unusual and extremely un-Gorge like. The fleet waited for almost three hours before some signs of breeze appeared on the horizon. Just around two o'clock the fleet was finally able to squeeze in one last race. Within a 20 minute span of time, there was no breeze, and then there was 10-12, building as the race progressed topping out at a perfect 15-18 knots. As the fleet travelled upwind, it was spread evenly across the race course, converging at the top with Dan Kaseler on Raptor Deck in first, reigning Canadian National Champ Richard Reid on Zingara in second, followed by Porter, Ayres and Stamper.

The breeze slacked off downwind with Kaseler very much in control, Ayres moving up into second, Porter hanging tough in third. Corinthian's Bond, Gord Galbraith on Lekker and Stamper rounded sixth, seventh and eighth raising the bar in the all-amatuer division.

It was not until the very last run, that Ayres tried to put the moves on Kaseler for the lead, unfortunately it was not enough to overtake. Kaseler won the final race of the CSR Marine National Championship race series, Ayres came second, Porter was third, Doug Wilhelm's Wilco was fourth and Bond rounded out the top five finishers.

At the awards ceremony, a host of giveaways were provided above and beyond the overall trophies. Ian Collignon on M1 and George Haynie on Firewater were winners of some very cool Hutchinson Sports products. Kevin Clark took home a complete Raptor Deck non-skid kit - courtesy of Dan Kaseler. Speed challenge winners included Ayres (Friday - submitted a 25.8 knots) and Reid (Saturday - submitted a 17.8 knots).

The results of the 2015-17 U.S. Melges 24 Executive Committee elections were also officially announced at the prizegiving. Steve Boho is now the new U.S. Class President. George Haynie will serve as Vice President. Kevin Clark has been elected as Secretary, and Krak Arntson is the new Class treasurer.

Over the course of the last few days, it's easy to see why the Gorge fits the Melges 24 like a glove. From big, full-on breeze, to moderate conditions with kiteboarders zippin' all around, the Gorge has clearly made a lasting impression on this fleet. The Melges 24 will be back!

Where to from here

There is plenty of places to choose from - just choose a favourite. From San Francisco, to the insatiable Midwest, to the Miami Invitational in November, just choose one or choose them all. Check out the entire 2015 Schedule of Events as well as plan to attend for the 2016 Worlds in Miami.

Top ten results (Final - After Eight Races, One Discard)

1.) Brian Porter, Full Throttle; 1-[3]-1-2-1-1-1-3 = 10
2.) Jeff Madrigali/Kevin Welch, Mikey; 17-1-2-1-2-2-2-8 = 18
3.) Bruce Ayres, Monsoon; [6]-2-3-3-5-4-4-2 = 23
4.) Dan Kaseler, Raptor Deck; 2-[6]-6-4-3-5-3-1 = 24
5.) Doug Wilhelm, Wilco; 4-4-5-5-[9]-3-8-4 = 32
6.) Matt MacGregor, Good Enough; 9-5-7-8-[11]-6-6/RDG-10 = 51
7.) Herb Cole, Judo Chop; 3-15-4-6-6-12-[40/DSQ]-9 = 55
8.) Mike Bond, Honey Badger; 12-7-[15]-11-7-11-5-5 = 58
9.) Steve Boho, The 300; [18]-17-18-7-14-9-8-7 = 80
10.) Richard Reid, Zingara; 5-10-8-[40/DNS]-4-8-7-40/RET = 81

Top Ten Corinthian Results (Final - After Eight Races, One Discard)

1.) Matt MacGregor, Good Enough; 51 pts
2.) Mike Bond, Honey Badger; 58 pts
3.) Duncan Stamper, Goes To Eleven; 83 pts
4.) Gord Galbraith, Lekker; 83 pts
5.) Fraser McMillian, Swish; 85 pts
6.) Kevin Clark, Smokin'; 90 pts
7.) John Rahn, Pickled Beets; 91 pts
8.) Manfred Schmiedl, Brio; 108 pts
9.) Sallie Lang, Posse; 117 pts
10.) Duane Yoslov, Looper; 133 pts