Bacardi Miami Sailing Week 2013 - Record-breaking fleet

by Joy Dunigan on 6 Mar 2013 Bacardi Miami Sailing Week 2013. The Audi Melges 20 fleet is proud to bring the 2013 Miami Winter Series to a close with the highly anticipated race off Biscayne Bay. The fleet continues to break participation records with 51 boats planned to be in attendance starting on Thursday, March 7 in Miami, Florida.

Continuing with the huge success of the fleet, the International Audi Melges 20 Class Association (IAM20CA) is thrilled to welcome the very first Japanese teams ever to race on the global circuit. Yousuke Watabe and Shibuki Iitsuka on JPN 241 and Naofumi Kamei and Kan Yamada sailing Mamma Aiuto! will convene on the starting line with the rest of the fleet for the Audi Melges 20 Miami Winter Series Event No. 3.

This highly diverse fleet will represent USA, Canada, British Virgin Islands, Italy, and now Japan. Yamada, Melges Japan sales representative, is ecstatic about the fleet growth in Japan.

'The Audi Melges 20 fleet is a perfect fit for the Japanese sailors and many have already shown great interest in the boat and for good reason.' Yamada explains, 'The Audi Melges 20 is an extremely attractive boat with the no hiking aspect, ease of mobility, screaming downwinds, and of course a highly competitive and a well supported fleet. My mission is to educate every Japanese sailor on just how wonderful the Audi Melges 20 truly is and about the phenomenal backing the IAM20CA provides to every single member of the class.'

The stakes are heightened with the Audi Melges 20 Winter Series title up for grabs this weekend. The competition is incredibly close with current overall leader John Kilroy's Samba Pa Ti tied for points with Richard Davies' Section 16 in second. In third place is Marcus Eagan's Cajun Underwriting who is also tied for points with Rob Wilber's Cinghiale in fourth place. The Series includes the best of all three combined scores from the Miami Winter Series of regattas.View The 2013 Miami Winter Series Ranking.

Registration, practice, regatta preparation and opening ceremonies happen on Wednesday, March 6, with racing taking place Thursday through Saturday (eight races are scheduled). The Melges Skippers meeting will take place at Coconut Grove Sailing Club (CGSC) (at 6:00pm on Wednesday, March 6th. Over the course of the weekend a grand host of Melges social events are on tap including the Melges Performance Sailing De-Brief Session presented by EFG Bank on Thursday afternoon post racing at GCSC, and the party everyone can't wait to attend - the Melges Rocks! party happens on Friday, March, 8 at 8:30 until at Mr. Moe's in the Grove. See you there!

Full Entry List

1.) Jason Knoll, A Little Wicked
2.) Brian Hill, Atlas
3.) Michael Kiss, Bacio
4.) Rhonda Joyce, Batteries Not Required
5.) Henry Demone, Bella Rena
6.) Pat Eudy, Big Booty
7.) Jon Messenger, Black Sheep
8.) Roland Vandermeer, BLAST!
9.) John Brown, Blind Squirrel
10.) John Arendshorst, Blink 20/20
11.) Erwyn Naidoo, Bohica
12.) David Flechsig, BRR Blind Rooster Racing
13.) Marcus Eagan, Cajun Underwriting
14.) Rob Wilber, Cinghiale
15.) Doug Forster, Currently Unnamed
16.) Lance Smotherman, Details
17.) Danny Shea, Diamante
18.) Tony Tabb, Elevation Racing
19.) Erik Wulff, Endorphin
20.) John Kimura, Evoked Potential
21.) Trey Sheehan, Flat Stanley Racing
22.) Chuck Holzman, Flyer
23.) Tom Kassberg, Flygfisk
24.) Dario Levi/Andrea Casale, Fremito D'arja
25.) Marc Hollerbach, Fu
26.) Robert Hughes, Heartbreaker
27.) Mark Plaxton, INTAC
28.) Brian Henke, Know name?
29.) Daniel Thielman, Kuai
30.) Travis Weisleder, Lucky Dog/Gill Race Team
31.) Kent Haegar, Mach Schnell
32.) Naofumi Kamei/Kan Yamada, Mamma Aiuto!
33.) Manfredi Vianini Tolomei, Maolca
34.) John Taylor, Ninkasi
35.) Thomas Bowen, No Name Yet
36.) Camille Rasdal, Odin
37.) James Wilson, Oleander
38.) Paul Reilly, Red Sky Sailing Team
39.) John Kilroy Jr., Samba Pa Ti
40.) Richard Davies, Section 16
41.) Russell Lucas, Shimmer
42.) Wes Whitmeyer Jr., Slingshot
43.) Richard Mallinson, Speedemon
44.) Jeff Ecklund, STAR
45.) Alessandro Rombelli, STIG
46.) Yousuke Watabe/Shibuki Iitsuka, JPN 241
47.) Rob Butler, Touch 2 Play
48.) Tom Ritter, Tramp
49.) Chris Rypkema, Umi Minor
50.) Andy Rasdal, Valkyrie
51.) Paul Currie, Wild Bacardi Miami Race Week 2013