Melges 20 Miami Winter Regatta – Liam rallies to take second title

by International Melges 20 Class Association on 8 Feb 2016 2016 Melges 20 Miami Winter Regatta – An overnight weather system packing 20-30 knots of westerly winds arrived onto Biscayne Bay providing the Melges 20 fleet at the Miami Winter Series (MWS), Event No. two regatta with one final, full-on race that ultimately shaking up the standings and determining the final podium line-up.

While the Kilroy family had the top two positions locked up, third place was very much up for grabs. It was going to be a toss up between six teams and the Corinthian title also needed to be decided.

The breeze was testing the upper limits of the class wind speed guidelines, but PRO Blake Middleton and his legion of volunteers from Coconut Grove Sailing Club set a square course and the tightly packed fleet of Melges 20s charged upwind on the 1.2 mile beat.

As is the case with most wind directions in Biscayne Bay, the left side typically pays and it paid big for Jim Wilson sailing with his daughters Hope and Molly on Oleander winning the pin to own the left corner. With a healthy lead around the first lap, Wilson was eventually ground down by overall event winner Liam Kilroy on Wildman. He and his team that included Steve Hunt, Stephanie Roble and Erik Shampain, snagged an early left shift out of the leeward gates and stayed in phase to take the bullet, securing the event win.

With Liam in first and his father John Kilroy on Samba Pa Ti finishing second overall, Wilson earned the performance of the weekend as he charged up the scoreboard to finish in third. Class veteran Daniel Thielman on Kuai finished fourth while a hard charging Drew Freides on Pacific Yankee took fifth after passing six boats on the final run.

Corinthian Coronation
The steady hand of Philadelphian John Brown on Blind Squirrel and his team of Kyle Rogachenko and George Demand sailed a consistent event to win the title of 2016 Melges 20 Corinthian Miami Winter Regatta Champion.

Sailing in his very first Melges 20 regatta ever with a team of young, aspiring sailboat racers from the Lake Geneva, WI, fourteen-year old Harry Melges IV kept the all-amatuer division tight with a nice seventh place in Race Four. Melges finished up the Winter Regatta as second Corinthian. Canada's Paul Currie on Wild Deuces completed the podium.

March Melges 20 Madness - Get ready to rock
With two of the three MWS events complete, the overall Series has taken shape with Liam Kilroy holding the overall lead, followed closely by John Kilroy, and Jim Wilson in third, a pack of Class veterans aim to round out the top five. In just over four weeks, the third and final MWS event concludes at the Melges Rocks Regatta on March 4-6.

Special Thanks
As always, a very sincere thanks to all the teams that competed this weekend. Without you and your dedication to the Melges 20 style of one-design racing, the Miami Winter Series MWS) would not be possible. Also, a very special thanks to Coconut Grove Sailing Club CGSC) and its deeply committed league of passionate volunteers, most especially to PRO Blake Middleton. Many thanks for the endless and unwavering support of Melges USA!

Top ten results (Final - After six races)
1.) Liam Kilroy, Wildman; 2-2-[3]-2-2-1 = 9
2.) John Kilroy, Samba Pa Ti; 5-1-1-4-3-[5] = 14
3.) James Wilson, Oleander; [17/SCP]-8-5-6-6-3 = 28
4.) Daniel Thielman, Kuai; 3-[15]-9-3-8-7 = 30
5.) Drew Freides, Pacific Yankee; 1-6-9/SCP-[15]-13-2 = 31
6.) Rob Wilber, Cinghiale; 7-4-[17]-9-4-8 = 32
7.) Wes Whitmyer Jr.; Slingshot; 14-9-6-1-5-[15] = 35
8.) Paul Reilly, Red Sky Sailing Team: 8-5-2-[14]-14-6 = 35
9.) Julian Plante, Character 2.0; 4-3-1-10-[16]-9 = 42
10.) Matteo Marenghi Vaselli, Raya; [15]-7-12-12-1-12 = 44