2009 Melges 17 U.S. Nationals day one a smash hit

by Melges 17 Media - Andy Burdick on 29 Aug 2009 We woke up to a beautiful morning on Glen Lake. Partly sunny, light cool breeze and sailboats all around the Glen Lake Yacht Club. It is race day! The Melges 17 National Championship was kicked off by championship organizers Brad and Jandy Sprouse along with Principal Race Officer Jamie Jones.

Nineteen boats are competing for this year’s title. The new and ultra exciting fleet drew people from all around the country. Mary Anne Ward says, 'I will drive anywhere in the USA to race a Melges 17, they are incredible boats to race.' Ward is from Eustis, Florida.

There are a lot of couples and father son teams on the water during this regatta. The boat is fast, fun and user friendly so many husband and wife teams enjoy going to new venues to vacation and race these thrilling Melges Sport boats.
Race one did not bring to thrilling of a condition. Light air at 5-8 but even with this minimal breeze the Melges 17 performs better than any other boat it its size range. The boat is a blast in the light wind – fast upwind and downwind.
After a brief postponement the PRO Jamie Jones fired up heat number one. Right away four boats blasted off the line and snuck away from the competition.
Leveraging to the right was Coye Harret and crew member Meg Siz from Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Mary Anne Ward, Sean Fidler and Mike Dow leveraged left. As the teams approached at the top mark Ward and Fidler battled for the lead and this battle continued down the run. These boats split at the leeward gate with Fidler going right and Ward going left.

At first the left looked solid but the pressure favored the right in the end and Fidler rounded the next top mark in first with Ward just 20 yards behind. Harrett and Dow were close behind as well with a big gap to the 5th place boat which was Tom and Tommy Munroe.

At the end of race one Sean Fidler and wife Tiffany crossed the line with a victory and some high fives! Mary Anne Ward and super sailor Peter Keck were second. Coye Harrett and Meg Six were third and following close behind was Mike and Stephanie Dow. Great race with some exciting exchanges on the tack and jibes.

The breeze continued to move left as we approached race two. The forecast was for a more NE wind direction. Jamie Jones provided a square line for race 2 although Lesa and John Gutenkunst found something special as they blasted off the line and tacked to port.

They continued to sail a stellar beat and had a nice lead as they set their jet Black kite. They continued to dominate and by the time they reached the second upwind mark they had over a 2 minute lead. It was difficult sailing too as the wind became very spotty.

John Gutenkunst is a very good scow sailor from Pewaukee and he showed his expertise in these patchy conditions. Ward, Dow, Fidler were all in the hunt too. As Gutenkunst went down the last run it seemed they had the bullet in the bag but the breeze really filled from behind and in the end their big lead was whittled down to an important jibing duel with Fidler and Mike Dow.

Sean and Tiffany Fidler sailed very well to go from seventh at the first top mark to be in the lead just at the right time in the second race - right at the finish.

They received their second bullet of the day. Mike and Stephanie Dow were second and then Lesa and John Gutenkunst finished third. While disappointed, they were all smiles ready to go back at it for race three.

After a 90 minute on-shore postponement, the Melges 17 fleet went back on the water for a third race this late afternoon. A little more breeze, a longer race course and big shift on the first run were the characteristics of this afternoons racing.

There was now enough wind for both skipper and crew to be on the high side and hiking out at times too. The 1.5 mile windward leg spread the fleet out pretty quick as the fleet split evenly left and right up the first beat of the race. Mary Anne Ward was leading at the top mark once again after sailing a fantastic leg. Mike Dow, Jim Hilgard and Lesa Gutenkunst were right there along with MC Midwinter Champion Rob Terry. (Rob is addicted to Melges Racing – he has an E, MC and Melges 17).

Down the first run the breeze shifted 60 degrees to the left forcing the PRO to rapidly adjust marks. The wind increased up to 11 mph so speeds were ramped up. The RC got the course set and the competitor adjusted their sail controls to handle increased velocity. At the top end of the beat Rob Terry and Mary Anne Ward exchanged tacks while Coye Harrett, Mike Dow and Lesa Gutenkunst fought their way to the front of the race.

At the top mark Ward was winning with Rob Terry just 20 yards dead astern. Harrett, Dow and Gutenkunst were 75 yards back but the race was not over. On this final run the leaders became lifted 20 degrees and their wind velocity went down. A bad combo. Gutenkunst and Dow jibed before they entered that zone and you could tell right away that they were going to be a major factor as the race progressed. As the boats separated you could not help but notice the 'turned down' angles Dow and Gutenkunst were sailing. When they finally did jibe it was evident that these two boats had made big gains. Ward tried to jibe later and consolidate a bit but it was too late. Dow and Gutenkunst had made a big move and they sailed around the leaders.

At the finish Mike and Stephanie Dow won in style giving high fives. They were totally psyched about the days racing! They should be - they are winning the regatta after three races. Lesa and John Gutenkunst finished second in the race, Terry third and Ward dropped to fourth.

The two race winner Sean Fidler battled back to get a seventh. Right now the regatta is tight between Mike Dow, Sean Fidler and Mary Anne Ward.

Good breeze is the forecast for tomorrow. Stay tuned!

(Sail-World will publish full race results when tey come to hand)