Melges 20 World Championship - Tough fight for podium

by Melges 20 on 8 Oct 2017 After eight races, eight varied race winners and a wide range of racing conditions, Drew Friedes' Pacific Yankee with tactician Morgan Reeser and crew member Charlie Smythe have captured their very first major international title in the Melges 20 Class, that of World Champions. It's a title and trophy that is anything but easy to come by, and Freides' long racing campaign which includes a runner-up finish at Worlds in 2016 with the same crew, has served him well and delivered exactly what he was after - the top trophy in the most rewarding Class of boat in the World. With this win, he also strengthens his placement on the World League Circuit and remains atop the North American Division standings.

'When I got the boat three years ago, Charlie Smythe came with it. I've only left the dock without him once,' said Freides. 'We worked really hard. We've been to every event. We're fortunate that the chips went our way this week. Things fell into place for us this year. The Melges 20 fleet is second to none. And that's what drives all of us to race the Melges 20. Not only are the boats exhilarating but the people are amazing. Everyone's fun to be around and the talent is incredible.'

Freides continued: 'I bought this boat three years ago because my mom was dying of cancer. She made me get a Melges 20 before she passed away because she knew how much it meant to me. This win's for her. We did it.'

Vladimir Prosikhin's Nika claims second place on a brand new boat in Newport, and with such a great result it enhances his position on the International World League stage as well. Rounding out the World Championship podium is John Kilroy Jr.'s Samba PA TI in third.

Former Melges 20 Gold Cupper Alessandro Rombelli's STIG, and Jim Wilson's Oleander complete to the top five respectively.

Much like yesterday, today's one and only race got underway after a lengthy postponement, featuring light and shifty conditions. Freides won the event with a race to spare, leaving the rest of the top contenders to duke it out for podium positions. The conditions were kinder to some rather than others with Russia's Yuri Morozov on Russotrans taking the win, chased by Dario Levi's Fremito D'Arja finishing up in second, and Prosikhin grabbing a nice third.

Corinthian W-O-R-L-D-Wide Sensation

Congratulations to Canada's Justin Quigg and Character 2.0 teammates Julian Plante and Nick Cleary as they are 2017 Melges 20 Corinthian World Champions! Practically from start to finish, Quigg commanded the Worlds all-amatuer division for a huge win. Brazil's Cesar Gomes Neto at the helm of Portobello came second followed by Johannes Lind-Widestram's Intermezzo finishing third.

Special Thanks

A very special thanks to our World Championship hosts - the New York Yacht Club and Sail Newport, especially to PRO Peter Reggio and phenomenal race committee. A big thanks to our chief sponsors Melges USA and North Sails.

Where to go from here... Miami and Charleston

The 2017-18 Miami Winter Series is up next featuring three great events: the Season Opener happens December 1-3, the 2018 Winter Regatta on February 9-11 and Melges Rocks on March 16-18 each hosted by Coconut Grove Sailing Club. Melges 20s live for Biscayne Bay racing excitement and action. Online registration is open for all three regattas at these links:

- EVENT NO. 1: December 1-3, 2017
- EVENT NO. 2: February 9-11, 2018
- EVENT NO. 3: March 16-18, 2018

Post Miami, teams can anticipate an awesome Spring racing season in the low-country. Charleston, SC will not only play host to the famous 2018 Sperry Race Week on April 12-15, but shortly thereafter, the North American fleet will host its U.S. National Championship in the same location on May 18-20.

Top Five World Championship Results (Final - After Eight Races, One Discard)

1.) (USA) Drew Freides, PACIFIC YANKEE; 1-2-2-7-6-7-5-[39/DNF] = 30
2.) (RUS) Vladimir Prosikhin, NIKA; 5-6-[39/DNF]-4-4-12-3-3 = 37
3.) (USA) John Kilroy Jr., SAMBA PA TI; 11-3-6-6-1-13-[24]-6 = 46
4.) (ITA) Alessandro Rombelli, STIG; 10-9-11-[12]-9-1-2-11 = 53
5.) (USA) Jim Wilson, OLEANDER; 4-1-5-2-20-17-[32]-7 = 56

2017 Five Melges 20 World League Results (After 12 Events Complete)

1.) (RUS) Igor Rytov, RUSSIAN BOGATYRS = 136 pts.
2.) (RUS) Vladimir Prosikhin, NIKA = 95 pts.
3.) (ITA) Achille Onorato, MASCALZONE LATINO JR. = 82 pts.
4.) (USA) Drew Freides, PACIFIC YANKEE = 77 pts.
5.) (RUS) Alexander Ezhkov, PIROGOVO = 73 pts.

2017 Melges 20 World 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 Race 7 Race 8 T O Total World Championship Racing One Design Division Melges 20 1. 1   USA 300 Pacific Yankee Melges 20 Drew Freides 1 2 2 7 6 7 5 39/DNC [39] 30.0 2. 309   RUS 309 Nika Melges 20 Vladimir Prosikhin 5 6 39/DNF 4 4 12 3 3 [39] 37.0 3. 313   USA 13131 Samba Pa Ti Melges 20 John Kilroy 11 3 6 6 1 13 24 6 [24] 46.0 4. 65   ITA 65 Stig Melges 20 Alessandro Rombelli 10 9 11 12 9 1 2 11 [12] 53.0 5. 250   USA 250 Oleander Melges 20 James Wilson 4 1 5 2 20 17 32 7 [32] 56.0 6. 311   USA 311 Wildman Melges 20 Liam Kilroy 7 5 12 8 3 18 23 4 [23] 57.0 7. 228   USA 228 Midnight Blue Melges 20 Jason Michas 28 8 9 13 10 11 1 10 [28] 62.0 8. 301   MON 301 Raya Melges 20 Matteo Marenghi Vaselli 8 11 15 9 8 6 29 8 [29] 65.0 9. 76   USA 7676 Kuai Melges 20 Daniel Thielman 9 4 4 1 15 39/DNF 6 27 [39] 66.0 10. 414   USA 414 Cinghiale Melges 20 Rob Wilber 3 28 1 26 22 3 4 14 [28] 73.0 11. 898   RUS 898 Russian Bogatyrs Melges 20 Igor Rytov 2 19 3 23 2 28 13 13 [28] 75.0 12. 8   USA 8 Shimmer Melges 20 Russell Lucas 20 13 7 14 7 9 10 20 [20] 80.0 13. 217   USA 217 Slingshot Melges 20 Wes Whitmyer Jr 6 7 8 10 18 21 18 16 [21] 83.0 14. 50   ITA 50 Fremito d'Arja Melges 20 Dario Levi 22 20 19 5 32 8 8 2 [32] 84.0 15. 305   USA 305 Midnight Sun Melges 20 Alexis Michas 21 33 20 16 5 2 16 5 [33] 85.0 16. 14   USA 14 Red Sky Sailing Team Melges 20 Paul Reilly 16 17 13 15 11 5 12 15 [17] 87.0 17. 213   USA 213 Moby Melges 20 Caleb Armstrong 24 31 16 3 13 4 9 22 [31] 91.0 18. 23   ITA 23 Mascalzone Latino Jr Melges 20 Achille Onorato 19 12 23 11 16 25 33 9 [33] 115.0 19. 229   CAN 229 Character 2.0 (Corinthian) Melges 20 Justin Quigg 18 15 18 18 21 15 11 23 [23] 116.0 20. 306   USA 306 Talisman Melges 20 John Bailey 15 18 21 17 19 16 14 17 [21] 116.0 21. 304   USA 304 Merga Melges 20 Drew Wierda 14 10 10 24 34 34 17 12 [34] 121.0 22. 88   USA 88 Heartbreaker Melges 20 Robert Hughes 39/DNF 39/DNS 17 19 12 14 19 18 [39] 138.0 23. 265   RUS 265 Russotrans Melges 20 Yurii Morozov 13 21 26 30 25 32 26 1 [32] 142.0 24. 47   RUS 47 Kotyara Melges 20 Oleg Evdokimenko 12 14 22 20 17 31 28 30 [31] 143.0 25. 214   CAN 214 Grinning Streak Melges 20 Rhonda Joyce 25 25 14 21 29 26 15 21 [29] 147.0 26. 294   RUS 294 RUS 294 Melges 20 Leonid Altukhov 27 27 28 32 26 24 7 19 [32] 158.0 27. 200   BRA 200 Portobello (Corinthian) Melges 20 Cesar Gomes Neto 17 16 29 27 23 19 37 39/DNC [39] 168.0 28. 225   USA 225 Flygfisk Melges 20 Tom Kassberg 23 24 31 22 27 22 30 25 [31] 173.0 29. 15   ISV 1315 Buds to Blossoms Melges 20 August Schram 30 23 33 34 14 27 21 26 [34] 174.0 30. 308   AUS 308 Dark Star Melges 20 John Bacon 29 29 30 31 31 10 22 31 [31] 182.0 31. 280   USA 280 Bobsled Melges 20 Bob Moran 34 30 25 33 24 23 20 32 [34] 187.0 32. 4   SWE 202 Intermezzo (Corinthian) Melges 20 Johannes Lind-Widestam 35 26 32 28 30 20 25 29 [35] 190.0 33. 210   AUS 13 Angophora Melges 20 Guido Belgiorno-Nettis 26 22 24 29 36 29 34 28 [36] 192.0 34. 25   MON 25 Path Melges 20 Anatoly Karachinsky 31 39/DNS 39/DNS 25 28 30 27 35 [39] 215.0 35. 196   USA 196 Sinful Opportunity (Corinthian) Melges 20 Ben Wilkinson 39/DNF 34 34 35 33 36 31 24 [39] 227.0 36. 227   USA 227 Kinetic Melges 20 Bob Hayward 32 32 27 36 37 35 35 34 [37] 231.0 37. 17   USA 17 Solas (Corinthian) Melges 20 John Murphy 39/DNF 39/DNS 39/DNS 37 35 33 36 33 [39] 252.0 38. 303   BRA 303 Onda Melges 20 Eduardo Souza Ramos 33 39/RET 39/DNF 39/DNC 39/DNC 39/DNC 39/DNC 39/DNC [39] 267.0    2017 Melges 20 World 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 Race 7 Race 8 T O Total World Championship Racing One Design Division Melges 20 1. 229   CAN 229 Character 2.0 Melges 20 Justin Quigg 18 15 18 18 21 15 11 23 [23] 116.0 2. 200   BRA 200 Portobello Melges 20 Cesar Gomes Neto 17 16 29 27 23 19 37 39/DNC [39] 168.0 3. 4   SWE 202 Intermezzo Melges 20 Johannes Lind-Widestam 35 26 32 28 30 20 25 29 [35] 190.0 4. 196   USA 196 Sinful Opportunity Melges 20 Ben Wilkinson 39/DNF 34 34 35 33 36 31 24 [39] 227.0 5. 17   USA 17 Solas Melges 20 John Murphy 39/DNF 39/DNS 39/DNS 37 35 33 36 33 [39] 252.0