2017 Melges 24 U.S. National Championship - Day 2 - Crushin' It

by Melges 24 on 9 Apr 2017 Wow, what a difference a day can make. This was the theme of Day Two (April 8) of the 2017 U.S. Melges 24 National Championship hosted by the Charleston Yacht Club (ChYC). More sunshine, cool temps, and a lot less breeze settled the fleet in well for round two of Melges 24 racing.

Three races were conducted with six-time Melges 24 U.S. National Champion Brian Porter (1999, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2015) on Full Throttle (USA-849) winning all three heats. With a ten point advantage over second place finisher John Brown on Blind Squirrel (USA-547), it is highly likely that 2017 will see Porter collect a record-breaking, seventh National Championship title. Kevin Welch's Mikey (USA-838) with Jason Rhodes at the helm, is now in third.

PRO Hal Smith got the racing started on time, despite the possibility that with a stiff, outbound current and a very shifty breeze, Race Four may not come easy. A first attempt ended in abandonment, leaving the fleet to wait for almost two hours before having another chance to start a race.

Around 2 o'clock, Smith and his ChYC Race Committee set the course and the fleet went racing. Thankfully, the breeze came in early allowing for not only one race, but three for a total of six complete, activating a discard of each boat's worst score.

Indeed Porter had a flawless day, but others managed to bask in the spotlight too such as relatively new fleet member Michael Goldfarb on Warcanoe (USA-825) scoring a second place finish in Race Five, while Corinthian George Haynie on Firewater (USA-687) also found some speed to place third. Southeast District Governor Gary Schwarting on Obsession (USA-578) grabbed a top ten finish in Race Six, as did Tom Babel at the helm of Thomas Roop's Le Coq (USA-121).

Don't Tread On Me

While Porter dominated today's overall division, the fleet was under siege in the Corinthian category. Atlanta-based teams Brent McKenzie at the helm of Ex-Kahn (USA-575) and K.C. Shannon's Shaka (USA-801) chose to 'go to the mattresses.' After a light, shifty and very tricky day of sailing, only one point separates these two teams with Shannon taking over the lead from Friday leader McKenzie. 'We're gonna take'em out', said Reid Collins, long-time Melges 24 sailor and crew member aboard McKenzie's Ex-Kahn. 'Like an 'Ex-Kahn' would!' he furthered in friendly banter. The perseverance of these two teams paid off nicely today as they now find themselves also in the top ten overall standings.

Stuart Simpson's Team Barbarians (GBR-691) struggled a bit sliding back one space to round out the podium in third. Zane Yoder's FNG/Eelsnot (USA-9) is fourth, and Lake Geneva's, 76-year old Frank Davenport on Wild Goose (USA-736) emerged to round out the top five Corinthian standings.

Sunday is the final day of scheduled racing, where the fleet will attempt two more final races.

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

1.) Brian Porter, Full Throttle: 1-4-2-1-1-1 = 6
2.) John Brown, Blind Squirrel; 3-2-7-2-6-3 = 16
3.) Kevin Welch/Jason Rhodes, Mikey; 2-7-5-5-5-4 = 21
4.) Bruce Ayres, Monsoon; 5-1-6-5-18-4-6 = 22
5.) Michael Goldfarb, Warcanoe; 8-5-10-6-2-7 = 28
6.) Peter Duncan, Jigs In Space; 12-6-3-7-21-2 = 30
7.) Wes Whitmyer, Jr.; SlingSHOT; 7-8-4-4-9-10 = 32
8.) Travis Weisleder, Lucky Dog/Gill Race Team; 25/RET-3-1-20-10-5 = 39
9.) (C) KC Shannon, Shaka; 17-14-9-3-8-18 = 51
10.) (C) Brent McKenzie, EX-KAHN; 9-9-12-8-14-19 = 52

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

1.) KC Shannon, Shaka = 51 pts.
2.) Brent McKenzie, EX-KAHN = 52 pts.
3.) Stuart Simpson, Team Barbarians = 56 pts.
4.) Zane Yoder, FNG Eelsnot = 68 pts.
5.) Frank Davenport, Wild Goose = 70 pts.

2017 Melges 24 U.S. 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 U.S. National Championship Racing One Design Division Melges 24 1. 49   USA 849 Full Throttle Melges 24 Brian Porter 1 4 2 1 1 1 [4] 6.0 2. 547   USA 547 Blind Squirrel Melges 24 John Brown 3 2 7 2 6 3 [7] 16.0 3. 838   USA 838 MiKEY Melges 24 Kevin Welch 2 7 5 5 5 4 [7] 21.0 4. 851   USA 851 Monsoon Melges 24 Bruce Ayres 5 1 6 18 4 6 [18] 22.0 5. 825   USA 825 Warcanoe Melges 24 Michael Goldfarb 8 5 10 6 2 7 [10] 28.0 6. 515   USA 515 Jigs in Space Melges 24 Peter Duncan 12 6 3 7 21 2 [21] 30.0 7. 747   USA 747 SlingSHOT Melges 24 Wes Whitmyer Jr 7 8 4 4 9 10 [10] 32.0 8. 848   USA 848 Lucky Dog / Gill Race Team Melges 24 Travis Weisleder 25/RET 3 1 20 10 5 [25] 39.0 9. 801   USA 801 Shaka (Corinthian) Melges 24 KC Shannon 17 14 9 3 8 18 [18] 51.0 10. 575   USA 575 EX-KAHN (Corinthian) Melges 24 Brent McKenzie 9 9 12 8 14 19 [19] 52.0 11. 691   GBR 691 Team Barbarians (Corinthian) Melges 24 Stuart Simpson 13 13 8 11 17 11 [17] 56.0 12. 526   USA 526 3 1/2 men Melges 24 Steve Suddath 4 16 16 14 11 12 [16] 57.0 13. 121   USA 121 Le Coq Melges 24 Thomas Roop 11 17 14 16 20 8 [20] 66.0 14. 9   USA 9 FNG/Eelsnot (Corinthian) Melges 24 Zane Yoder 6 15 19 12 16 23 [23] 68.0 15. 736   USA 736 Wild Goose (Corinthian) Melges 24 Frank Davenport 14 19 22 13 7 17 [22] 70.0 16. 491   USA 491 Old School (Corinthian) Melges 24 Jay Greenfield 19 11 13 9 18 21 [21] 70.0 17. 201   USA 201 JACK Mormon Coffee Melges 24 Mossman/ Hutchinson 10 10 11 24 23 16 [24] 70.0 18. 905   USA 805 Decorum (Corinthian) Melges 24 Hunter Ratliff 25/OCS 12 15 17 12 15 [25] 71.0 19. 687   USA 687 Firewater (Corinthian) Melges 24 George Haynie 25/DNC 25/DNC 20 15 3 14 [25] 77.0 20. 587   USA 587 OBSESSION Melges 24 Gary Schwarting 15/RDG 25/DNS 25/DNS 21 15 9 [25] 85.0 21. 419   USA 419 Apex Melges 24 Kent Picknell 16 21 21 19 13 22 [22] 90.0 22. 738   USA 738 Dark Energy (Corinthian) Melges 24 Laura Grondin 18 20 18 23 22 13 [23] 91.0 23. 24   USA 34 Bad Idea Melges 24 Scot Zimmerman 15 18 17 22 24 24 [24] 96.0 24. 77   USA 77 Bones (Corinthian) Melges 24 Robert Harf 25/DNF 25/DNS 25/DNS 10 19 20 [25] 99.0     2017 Melges 24 U.S. National Championship - Corinthian Teams - 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 U.S. National Championship Racing One Design Division Melges 24 1. 801   USA 801 Shaka Melges 24 KC Shannon 17 14 9 3 8 18 [18] 51.0 2. 575   USA 575 EX-KAHN Melges 24 Brent McKenzie 9 9 12 8 14 19 [19] 52.0 3. 691   GBR 691 Team Barbarians Melges 24 Stuart Simpson 13 13 8 11 17 11 [17] 56.0 4. 9   USA 9 FNG/Eelsnot Melges 24 Zane Yoder 6 15 19 12 16 23 [23] 68.0 5. 736   USA 736 Wild Goose Melges 24 Frank Davenport 14 19 22 13 7 17 [22] 70.0 6. 491   USA 491 Old School Melges 24 Jay Greenfield 19 11 13 9 18 21 [21] 70.0 7. 905   USA 805 Decorum Melges 24 Hunter Ratliff 25/OCS 12 15 17 12 15 [25] 71.0 8. 687   USA 687 Firewater Melges 24 George Haynie 25/DNC 25/DNC 20 15 3 14 [25] 77.0 9. 738   USA 738 Dark Energy Melges 24 Laura Grondin 18 20 18 23 22 13 [23] 91.0 10. 77   USA 77 Bones Melges 24 Robert Harf 25/DNF 25/DNS 25/DNS 10 19 20 [25] 99.0