Melges 20 Miami Winter Series – Eventful final day
by Audi Melges 20 Int'l Class Association on 10 Mar 2013
James Wilson, Oleander - Audi Melges 20 Bacardi Miami Sailing Week 2013 — Day 3 2013 JOY / Int'l Audi Melges 20 Class Association
http://melges20.com/
Audi Melges 20 Miami Winter Series, held in conjunction with the 2013 Bacardi Miami Sailing week, third and final day of racing was eventful to say to least. Two time winner, Michael Kiss' Bacio with tactician Christ Rast and crew member Willie McBride had an excellent day on the water with a 3-2-1 punch and a throw out for race four winning the Bacardi Miami Sailing Series with an impressive ten point spread over the rest of the fleet. Alessandro Rombelli's STIG was the runner up followed by James Wilson's Oleander who had an incredible series winning race one and two for the event.
The Audi Melges 20 Miami Winter Series finally crowned a winner after three attendance shattering events. Congratulations to Richard Davies' Section 16 with tactician Charlie Mckee, and crew member Matt Pistay for taking first place honors. The team had a great series finishing seventh in event one, third in Event No. 2 and fourth at Bacardi. Kiss takes second overall improving with each event finishing thirteenth in event one, third in event two and taking the overall spot after the final event. Marcus Eagan's Cajun Underwriting with tactician Marc Eagan and crew member Andrew Eagan is an all Corinthian, family filled, power packed team of impeccable sailors. This crew competed among the best sailors in the world and finished in third place out of a fleet 40+ boats.
The breeze remained steady allowing the race committee to get three races off. The first race of the day was a general recall due to a huge right shift at the start causing major commotion on the line. After adjustments to the starting line, race one was underway with John Taylor's Ninkasi punching the line and getting out early. Taylor lead at the top mark and was able to extend for a huge win followed by Marc Hollerbach on Fu, and Kiss round out the top three.
Race two of the day began with a quick, all clear start with Taylor again having a great start out of the gate. Robert Hughes' Heartbreaker lead at the top mark. At the gate the course was shortened but Heartbreaker's crew of Brain Janney and Morgan Reeser were able to remain on the line a finish in open water.
The overall Bacardi Miami Sailing Week Winner, Michael solidified his win by taking the bullet in the final race of the day and of the series. Congratulations to Bacio for a job well done. Rob Wilber on Cinghiale found their groove in the last race coming up huge with a second place finish. Corinthian team Valkyrie owned by Andy Rasdal was able to get a good start and remained up at the top of the fleet finishing the final race of the day with an impressive third place finish.
The overall Corinthian winner for the Audi Melges 20 Miami Winter series goes to Jon Messenger's Black Sheep with crew members Jermey Edwards and Mark Goodyear. This boat competed in all three events winning the overall in the second event and holding strong to take the overall for the series. John Brown's Blind Squirrel took second place while Brian Hill's Atlas rounded out the top three.
Top Ten Results (After Seven Races - Final)
1.) Michael Kiss, Bacio; 6-2-8-[15]-3-2-1=22
2.) Alessandro Rombelli, STIG; 9-1-[18]-4-7-3-9=33
3.) James Wilson, Oleander; 1-14-2-6-8-[16]=37
4.) Richard Davies, Section 16; 10-16-3-1-4-[28]=42
5.) Russell Lucas, Shimmer; [14]-3-4-8-11-5-12=43
6.) Marcus Eagan, Cajun Underwriting; 3-[51/ocs]-1-5-17-10-10=46
7.) Marc Hollerbach, Fu; 4-11-[16]-7-2-14-8=46
8.) Paul Reilly, Red Sky Sailing Team;5-4-9-10-[32]-18-5=51
9.) John Taylor, Ninkasi; 11-[24]-5-9-1-22-11=59
10.) Robert Hughes, Heartbreaker; 26-12-15-3-[31]-1-7=64
Top Five Corinthians (After Five Races - Final)
1.) Marcus Eagan, Cajun Underwriting; 3-[51/ocs]-1-5-17-10-10=46
2.) Brian Hill, Atlas; 22-20-13-[28]-12-6-22=95
3.) John Arendshorst, Blink 20/20; 19-18-12-[51/DFN]-19-13-15=96
4.) Andrew Rasdal, Valkyrie; 51/dnf-51/osc-14-21-9-19-3=117
5.) Jon Messenger, Black Sheep; Full Results here.
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