Audi Melges 20 Canadian Nationals - Gomes Neto takes charge on day 1

by International Melges 20 Class Association on 21 Sep 2014 With a very civilized starting time of 12 noon, the compact Audi Melges 20 fleet competing at the 2014 Canadians made way to the starting line with breeze in the 12-15 range and a lumpy sea state. While the breeze looked solid, the fleet very quickly discovered the race course was filled with big changes in velocity and direction with a high priority on staying in the pressure.

The Port Credit RC team had a square, 1.2 nm racecourse set on time to allow for a solid start to the day. Race 1 husband/wife team of Brian and Melissa Hill on Atlas had home field advantage sneaking around Cesar Gomes Neto's Portobello on the second upwind beat to nab the win by a fair margin. The veteran team on John Messenger's Black Sheep followed in third.

After giving up the lead in Race 1, Gomes recovered after an average start in Race 2 to find a nice lane on the middle, left side of the course and nailed a few tricky shifts at the top resulting in a sizable lead and never looking back. John Taylor on Ninkasi began to find his groove and passed boats throughout the race to grab a second, followed by a steadily fast Justin Quigg and his Character 2.0 team.

Without delay the third and final race of the day began and just as in previous races, the fleet split left and right trying to sniff out the advantage on the first beat. While it looked even halfway up the beat, Taylor and Gomes legged it out to the right side and despite strong angles from the left at times, it was Taylor leading at the top mark, extended on the downwind to grab the win, with Gomes and Messenger in tow.

Post racing the hosts rolled out some beverages and tunes to allow for a post race debrief on the dock amongst the fleet. Day two is forecast for a big southerly breeze with some welcome warmer temps.

Top Five Results (After Three Races)

1.) Cesar Gomes Neto, Portobello; 2-1-2 = 5
2.) John Taylor, Ninkasi; 6-2-1 = 9
3.) Jon Messenger, Black Sheep; 3-5-3 = 11
4.) Brian and Melissa Hill, Atlas; 1-4-7 = 12
5.) Justin Quigg, Character 2.0; 4-3-5 = Click here for full Event website