The Inland Championship 2017 – Overall

by Melges Performance Sailboats on 30 Aug 2017 Four fleets with over 214 boats were in contention for top honors this year at the Buddy Melges Sailing Center on Lake Geneva.

It’s an annual tradition dating back before the turn of the century. The community of Inland Lake Yachting Association sailors and spectators come together for the Inland Championship where the A Scow, E Scow, C Scow, and MC Scow fleets contend for the highest titles in inland sailing.

This is no rinky-dink event: This is a clash of legends. Sailors calling the ILYA home hold titles in world championships, the Olympics, the America’s Cup, world-class match racing events, elite College Sailing programs, and Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman awards. Many talented sailors got their start in the sport and continue to excel because of their time sailing Melges Scows on inland lakes.

Inland sailing is a lifestyle of fun, fast, family racing. The camaraderie between families and lake communities is unparalleled in all of sailing. The ILYA is grounded in families and friends with bonds that stretch across generations.

At the Inland Championship, US Sailing awarded Candace Porter with the C.R.E.W. Award for her lifelong extensive service on behalf of the ILYA.

After being hosted by the Lake Geneva Yacht Club for three years, the Inland Championship will head to the Minnetonka Yacht Club next August.

Vincent Porter wins A Inland

Vincent Porter succeeded in an incredible feat; he and his teams were crowned champions of both the A Scow and E Scow Championships.

Sailing with Porter on the Eagle in the A Scow fleet were Ryan Fitzgerald, Dave Navin, Kyle Navin, Junior Impens, Christian Spencer, and Greg Gifford.

A Scow Top Five
(16 boats, 3 races)

1) Vincent Porter’s I-1 Eagle – 4 points
2) Pat Hughes’s M-21 Melvin – 8 points
3) Tom Freytag’s I-7 MadCap – 12 points
4) Will Crary's W-3 TypeA – 14 points
5) Michael Keefe's I-55 Ajax – 21 points

Vincent Porter wins E Inland

The Wide Open I-2 team of Vincent Porter, Coye Harrett, Clifford Porter, and Kyle Navin assembled a dominant scorecard with two bullets and eighteen points after five challenging races.

Watch the I-2 punch out and control the fleet off the starting line in Thursday's drone video .

E Scow Top Five
(61 boats, 5 races)

1) Vincent Porter’s I-2 Wide Open – 18 points
2) Eddie Cox’s W-66 Marvin – 46 points
3) Tom Burton’s Cygnet – 51 points
4) Augie Barkow's Wagon – 55 points
5) Russ Lucas's Shimmer – 60 points

Andy Burdick wins C Inland

Andy Burdick and Peter Keck faced off in the C Scow fleet, with Burdick winning the final tie-breaker and taking home the Warren-Carpenter-Freytag Trophy for his second consecutive year alongside his family crew of Mya and Finn Burdick.

C Scow Top Five
(66 boats, 6 races)

1) Andy Burdick’s I-45 Stormin’ – 20 points
2) Peter Keck’s N-181 Likkity Split – 20 points
3) Kent Haeger’s B-12 Delusions – 41 points
4) Will Haeger's B-1 The Rear Commodore – 42 points
5) Ed Eckert's A-136 Nemesis – 42 points

Ryan Grosch wins MC Inland

Junior MC sailors Ryan Grosch and Jessie Olson from Lake Harriet rose to the top in the MC Scow fleet, holding back seventy other MCs to win their first Inland Championship title.

MC Scow Top Five
(71 boats, 3 races)

1) Ryan Grosch’s Black Cat – 11 points
2) Peter Strothman’s Hammer – 12 points
3) Gordon Lamphere’s White Magic – 17 points
4) Mark Tesar's No Daddy – 25 points
5) Mike Kaiser's Rocket Monster – 27 points