Charleston Race Week 2011 Brickhouse Team leads Melges 24 fleet

by US Melges 24 Class Association on 16 Apr 2011 Charleston Race Week runs from April 14th through April 17th and is sponsored by Sperry Top-Sider. Charleston Race Week also serves as the fourth stage, of the five-part Road To Corpus Christi series, a lead up to the International Class’ fourteenth World Championship.

The 47-strong Melges 24 fleet enjoyed four big breeze-on races today at the Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week regatta leaving lady helm Kristen Lane on Brickhouse 812 in first place overall. 'Today was really challenging. More so than any other venue, Charleston is really difficult to be consistent in.' said Lane. 'It really comes back to my team. Charlie McKee is calling tactics and did a phenomenal job. I felt like we did really well as a team today. My mission today was to concentrate on boat speed. That focus really paid off.'

'The core of my team has been sailing together for almost two years. That foundation really makes the focus possible' continued Lane. 'The currents in Charleston make the currents in San Francisco look like pre-school. It is very challenging here.'

The first and last races of the day were owned by second place-finisher Bora Gulari on Airforce 1. 'Kristen Lane was on it today,' said tactician Anthony Kotoun. 'Today was more about keeping your nose clean. You could also make a lot of mistakes. The first two races the current was going upwind, and the last two races it was going downwind. That’s how we got our tenth in race three. We fluffed the layline at the weathermark. Kristen stayed out of trouble and sailed very well today. In the last race we did a little more homework and found that the far side, the shallow side, would pay off. We came off the line disadvantaged, but slowly it came our way. It just got better and better.'

Rounding out the overall top three is Brian Porter on Full Throttle. Porter's 3-6-2-4 results proved that he was a force to be reckoned with. Two other teams stepped out to win races two and three. Former North American Champion Alan Field on WTF took honors in race two, while Bermuda’s Alec Cutler on Hedgehog found himself taking charge for the win in race three.

The weather forecast for Saturday is a expected to be quite severe. Talk of thunderstorms and very high winds and gusts are predicted.

Top Ten Results (Provisional, After Four Races)
1.) Kristen Lane, Brickhouse 812; 2-4-3-2 = 11
2.) Bora Gulari, Air Force 1; 1-2-10-1 = 14
3.) Brian Porter, Full Throttle; 3-6-2-4 = 15
4.) Martin Kullman, New Wave; 4-9-8-3 = 24
5.) Peter Cucci, Matador; 5-3-14-6 = 28
6.) Alan Field, WTF; 7-1-7-16 = 31
7.) Steve Kopf, Blur; 13-5-11-7 = 36
8.) Alec Cutler, Hedgehog; 14-13-1-9 = 37
9.) Peter Lane, Brickhouse 623; 18-11-4-8 = 41
10.) Riccardo Simoneschi, Audi; 11-10-9-17 = 47

Corinthian Heat
To no surprise, Paul Hulsey on Hoodlum Racing leads the Corinthian charge. His next biggest competition is U.S. Corinthian National Champion Henry Filter on Wild Child in second, followed by Chicago’s Augie Hernandez on High Voltage in third.

Top Five Results (Provisional, After four races)
1.) Paul Hulsey, Hoodlum Racing
2.) Henry Filter, Wild Child
3.) Augie Hernandez, High Voltage
4.) Gary Umberger, Uncle! Uncle!
5.) Adam Burns, Presto

Teams line up for worlds — entry deadline, April 22
The Melges 24 Road To Corpus series, of which Charleston Race Week is the penultimate event, culminates in the 2011 Melges 24 World Championship in Corpus Christi, Tx., from 11-21 May 2011. With teams from ten nations across North America, Europe and Australasia already entered, the competition is expected to be fierce. Entries for the regatta close officially on 22 April 2011. For further information, including the Notice of Race and Online Registration, please visit the Official Event Charlestone Race Week Melges 24 Worlds website