Audi Melges 20 World Championship - Dramatic final day

by Joy Dunigan on 4 Oct 2015 It was a dramatic final day in San Francisco at the 2015 Audi Melges 20 World Championship hosted by The San Francisco Yacht Club (SFYC). John Kilroy, Jr. aboard Samba Pa Ti has won his second, consecutive title. With the win, double success is also extended to crew member Jeff Reynolds, and Bill Hardesty who becomes a two-time Melges 20 World Champion tactician.

At the awards ceremony, Kilroy gave a heart-warming speech about his team and how Liam, came to sail in the Audi Melges 20 Class. 'This is such an amazing class. This is the smallest boat I have ever sailed and I never thought I was going to be in this class for more than a year,' said a very emotional Kilroy. 'It is such a great honor to be here, before you all - as an owner, as a family. And, I thank you for accepting Liam. I thank everyone in this room. I thank you for being the wonderful people that you are. This class is special. I salute you.'

In second overall, Cesar Gomes Neto on Portobello had a fantastic event. 'I like a lot of breeze. Believe it or not, it keeps me calm. The light air makes me nervous,' said Gomes Neto at the awards ceremony. 'It was a lot of fun. This is such a nice class. So many great sailors. I just love this. I wish I knew how fast we were going today, but there was so much water downwind coming over the boat.'

Liam Kilroy on Wildman came away from the Worlds with a third place trophy, followed by Guido Miani on Out of Reach finishing the event in fourth. It was a very proud day for Jim Wilson and his Oleander team as they rounded out the top five.

In the all-amateur team division, Oleg Evdokimenko on Kotyara with Aleksander Andrianov and Kontstantin Besputin are newly crowned Corinthian World Champions. 'The racing was amazing this week and we were so happy to be racing in San Francisco,' said Konstantin Besputin, Corinthian World Champion crew member. 'This was a great place to have a Worlds, racing against the very best sailors. This win was a great step for us as a team.'

'We hope to see many of the teams at the Monaco Winter Series that is happening over the next few months. There is great racing for sure. All of the events are very organized and regatta management is fantastic.'

Paul Currie at the helm of Wild Deuces with Justin Barnes and David Mori from Canada completed the event in second overall. Jay Golison driving Midlife Crisis with crew members Steve Flam and Keiran Searle were third.

All top tier teams were awarded trophies and Stella Rosa's 954 Champagne.

The final day of Worlds in San Francisco culminated in two final races that were absolute knock-down drag outs, literally for some. Early forecasts predicted the breeze would get bigger as the day went on, the real question was of course how quickly, if and when would it reach the Class' wind speed maximum.

Race Seven was won by Kilroy, securing his World Championship title. Corrado Agusta's Customly proved that he and his team were still in the groove with a successful first race of the day to take second. Drew Weirda's Merga had a great race to finish third.

For the final heat of the World Championship series. Under sunshine and 18-20 knots, Gomes Neto made it count, getting out front for the win. The top mark roundings and downwind runs were sheer entertainment as some teams were hit hard on the gybe sets allowing for other teams to unexpectedly advance. Freides recovered from a disappointing thirty-fourth in Race Seven to finish second. Miani was third.

A deep and very special thanks

No World Championship happens by itself. It is tough to organize and most especially, it takes hard work to keep it unfolding smoothly. The International Audi Melges 20 Class (IAM20CA) would like to thank Event Chairwoman Angie Lackey and Forrest Gay amongst the many volunteers that came together on the behalf of The San Francisco Yacht Club to make the World Championship a successful regatta.

The Class would also like to thank every team that traveled to participate. Without your support and dedication to this style of racing, the Worlds would not have been possible.

Up Next...

The IAM20CA moves on to Miami and to Monaco for the commencement of the Winter Series racing regattas. Registration is already online for the three 2015/16 Miami Winter Series events. More information can be found online regarding the events in Europe.

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

1.) John Kilroy, Samba Pa Ti; 1-6-3-2-4-1-1-[16] = 18
2.) Cesar Gomes Neto, Portobello; 5-2-[16]-6-6-5-6-1 = 31
3.) Liam Kilroy, Wildman; [13]-1-6-1-1-8-9-6 = 32
4.) Guido Miani, Out of Reach; 2-[22]-5-10-2-4-15-3 = 41
5.) Jim Wilson, Oleander; 9-[25]-2-4-9-6-11-5 = 46
6.) Drew Freides, Pacific Yankee; [18]-8-1-5-3-10-34-2 = 47
7.) Corrado Agusta, Customly; [40/DNF]-9-21-8-7-2-2-9 = 40
8.) Alessandro Rombelli, STIG; 10-3-8-[27]-11-21-10-4 = 67
9.) Achille Onorato, Mascalzone Latino Jr.; 6-13-4-[24]18-9-8-11 = 69
10.) Brian Porter, Shimmer; [20]-18-11-3-12-12-7-7 = 70

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

1.) Oleg Evdokimenko, Kotyara = 147 pts
2.) Paul Currie, Wild Deuces = 180 pts
3.) Jay Golison, Midlife Crisis = 194 pts

2015 Audi Melges 20 World Championship - Final Cumulative Results

Bow   Sail Number Yacht Name Yacht Design Skipper/Crew Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Race 5 Race 6 Race 7 Race 8 T O Total World Championship Racing One Design Division Audi Melges 20 1. 313 USA 13131 Samba Pa Ti Audi Melges 20 John Kilroy 1 6 3 2 4 1 1 16 [16] 18.0 2. 245 BRA 245 Portobello Audi Melges 20 Cesar Gomes Neto 5 2 16 6 6 5 6 1 [16] 31.0 3. 311 USA 311 WildMan Audi Melges 20 Liam Kilroy 13 1 6 1 1 8 9 6 [13] 32.0 4. 333 MON 333 Out of Reach Audi Melges 20 Guido Miani 2 22 5 10 2 4 15 3 [22] 41.0 5. 250 USA 250 Oleander Audi Melges 20 James Wilson 9 25 2 4 9 6 11 5 [25] 46.0 6. 236 USA 236 Pacific Yankee Audi Melges 20 Drew Freides 18 8 1 5 3 10 34 2 [34] 47.0 7. 81 MON 81 Customly Audi Melges 20 Corrado Agusta 40/DNF 9 21 8 7 2 2 9 [40] 58.0 8. 65 ITA 65 STIG Audi Melges 20 Alessandro Rombelli 10 3 8 27 11 21 10 4 [27] 67.0 9. 23 ITA 23 Mascalzone Latino jr. Audi Melges 20 Achille Onorato 6 13 4 24 18 9 8 11 [24] 69.0 10. 8 USA 8 Shimmer Audi Melges 20 Brian Porter 20 18 11 3 12 12 7 7 [20] 70.0 11. 401 USA 4014 Pinta Audi Melges 20 Michael Illbruck 16 5 15 11 8 11 16 19 [19] 82.0 12. 280 USA 280 Merga Audi Melges 20 Drew Wierda 25 4 10 23 26 18 3 12 [26] 95.0 13. 214 CAN 214 Grinning Streak Audi Melges 20 Rhonda Joyce 14 11 12 16 14 3 35 33 [35] 103.0 14. 210 AUS 13 Transfusion Audi Melges 20 Guido Belgiorno-Nettis 4 16 19 21 16 24 23 8 [24] 107.0 15. 15 USA 1315 Ninkasi Audi Melges 20 John Taylor 22 7 9 15 20 25 17 17 [25] 107.0 16. 414 USA 414 Cinghiale Audi Melges 20 Robert Wilber 24 20 18 26 17 7 14 10 [26] 110.0 17. 228 USA 228 Midnight Blue Audi Melges 20 Jason Michas 8 21 35 19 27 13 12 14 [35] 114.0 18. 217 USA 217 Slingshot Audi Melges 20 Wes Whitmyer Jr 12 17 29 18 35 14 5 29 [35] 124.0 19. 14 USA 14 Red Sky Sailing Team Audi Melges 20 Paul Reilly 15 15 23 29 10 17 24 22 [29] 126.0 20. 133 USA 133 Funner Audi Melges 20 Sid Gorham 7 19 33 12 22 20 26 21 [33] 127.0 21. 50 ITA 50 Fremito D'Arja Audi Melges 20 Dario Levi 40/DNS 40/DNS 13 20 5 15 21 15 [40] 129.0 22. 301 MON 301 Raya Audi Melges 20 Matteo Marenghi Vaselli 26 10 7 7 29 23 31 27 [31] 129.0 23. 76 USA 7676 Kuai Audi Melges 20 Daniel Thielman 17 27 22 13 19 28 22 13 [28] 133.0 24. 88 USA 88 Heartbreaker Audi Melges 20 Robert Hughes 3 26 28 30 23 22 4 40/DNF [40] 136.0 25. 47 RUS 047 Kotyara (Corinthian) Audi Melges 20 Oleg Evdokimenko 19 29 26 14 15 26 18 31 [31] 147.0 26. 16 USA 16 Section 16 Audi Melges 20 Richard Davies 27 23 14 25 24 33 30 20 [33] 163.0 27. 211 USA 211 Makaira Audi Melges 20 Skip Shapiro 28 12 27 9 31 31 33 26 [33] 164.0 28. 196 USA 196 Midnight Sun Audi Melges 20 Alexis Michas 23 30 17 31 21 27 20 28 [31] 166.0 29. 225 USA 225 Flygfisk Audi Melges 20 Tom Kassberg 29 28 20 37 25 16 27 23 [37] 168.0 30. 222 CAN 222 Wild Deuces (Corinthian) Audi Melges 20 Paul Currie 21 14 24 33 33 34 25 30 [34] 180.0 31. 230 USA 230 Yeah Baby Audi Melges 20 Justin Smart 30 31 30 35 13 32 29 24 [35] 189.0 32. 227 USA 227 Manatea 20 Audi Melges 20 Bob Hayward 34 36 32 38 30 29 13 18 [38] 192.0 33. 226 USA 226 Midlife Crisis (Corinthian) Audi Melges 20 Jay Golison 11 35 34 22 32 35 28 32 [35] 194.0 34. 25 RUS 25 Versya Audi Melges 20 Anatoly Karachinskiy 33 32 25 17 34 19 40/DNC 40/DNC [40] 200.0 35. 176 JPN 176 Quatre Hiro Audi Melges 20 Takahiro Kato 40/DSQ 24 36 28 36 36 19 25 [40] 204.0 36. 161 GER 161 Mojito (Corinthian) Audi Melges 20 Florian Rixner 33/RDG 33/RDG 33/RDG 32 28 30 40/OCS 35 [40] 224.0 37. 298 JPN 298 SP1 (Corinthian) Audi Melges 20 Yosuke Watabe 31 33 37 34 37 39 32 34 [39] 238.0 38. 187 JPN 233 Swift Magic (Corinthian) Audi Melges 20 Naoki Hirakawa 32 34 31 36 38 38 40/DNS 40/DNS [40] 249.0 39. 17 USA 17 Solas (Corinthian) Audi Melges 20 John Murphy 35 37 38 39 39 37 40/DNF 40/DNC [40] 265.0   2015 Audi Melges 20 World Championship - Corinthian Teams - Final Cumulative Results Bow   Sail Number Yacht Name Yacht Design Skipper/Crew Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Race 5 Race 6 Race 7 Race 8 T O Total World Championship Racing One Design Division Audi Melges 20 1. 47 RUS 047 Kotyara Audi Melges 20 Oleg Evdokimenko 19 29 26 14 15 26 18 31 [31] 147.0 2. 222 CAN 222 Wild Deuces Audi Melges 20 Paul Currie 21 14 24 33 33 34 25 30 [34] 180.0 3. 226 USA 226 Midlife Crisis Audi Melges 20 Jay Golison 11 35 34 22 32 35 28 32 [35] 194.0 4. 161 GER 161 Mojito Audi Melges 20 Florian Rixner 33/RDG 33/RDG 33/RDG 32 28 30 40/OCS 35 [40] 224.0 5. 298 JPN 298 SP1 Audi Melges 20 Yosuke Watabe 31 33 37 34 37 39 32 34 [39] 238.0 6. 187 JPN 233 Swift Magic Audi Melges 20 Naoki Hirakawa 32 34 31 36 38 38 40/DNS 40/DNS [40] 249.0 7. 17 USA 17 Solas Audi Melges 20 John Murphy 35 37 38 39 39 37 40/DNF 40/DNC [40] 265.0