Bribon and Ngoni Unstoppable—Sailing News from the U.S.
by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 29 Aug 2011
After several engaging days of racing, Jose Cusi’s Bribon (ESP) has won the TP52 class of the MedCup Region of Murcia Trophy, the season’s fourth regatta of the larger 2011 Audi MedCup circuit. 'For so many years we’ve been fighting, fighting alongside each other with this crew, and so they deserve this for all the hard work they’ve done,' said Ignasi Triay, Bribon’s project manager and trimmer. The Italian-flagged Audi Azzurra Sailing Team finished in second place, while Quantum Racing (USA) rounded out the podium.
In the Soto 40 class, action was equally hot. After eight races, Ngoni edged out the favored Iberdrola to take home the pickle dish, with the Spanish-flagged NH Resorts completing the top three. 'We are really happy,' said Kevin Sproul, Ngoni’s skipper and helmsman. 'We’ve had a fantastic regatta here, we think that our progression from earlier events is due to the fact that we started with a new boat and did not have a lot of training. It was very, very difficult at the beginning for us, because Iberdrola and NH Resorts have been sailing really well and they had a lot of previous practice. We felt that every regatta we were a little bit better and that showed in the results'
Be sure to check out the race reports, as well as several great photo galleries compliments of ace lens-woman Ingrid Abery, inside.
Meanwhile, the Melges 17 U.S. National Championships were held this past weekend at the White Lake Yacht Club, in Whitehall, Michigan, with Vincent Porter’s Full Throttle team taking top honors. Also in the Midwest and also Melges-related, Team Tunnicliffe won the Buddy Melges Challenge, which took place in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. 'It was another beautiful day of racing here in Sheboygan with warm temperatures and a steady northerly wind around 8-13 knots,' reported Anna Tunnicliffe, the team’s skipper. 'We sailed slightly longer races today since there was only the finals and petit finals racing to be concluded. The longer courses meant that we would get in good races. And we did.' Get the full reports from both of these great events, inside.
And on San Francisco Bay, Howie Hamlin and his CST team (Matt Noble and Paul Allen) has won the 18-Foot Skiff International Regatta, after several days of super tight racing. 'We're light,' said Hamlin. '66 pounds lighter than the heavies. If we can still go with the heavies that's good… Early in the week we were fast on the wind.' As for the overall level of competition, Hamlin was suitably impressed: 'The bottom end of the fleet is getting better here, and there's more of them.' Interestingly, this victory marks the sixth time that Hamlin has won the 18-Foot Skiff International Regatta out of the ten times that the St. Francis Yacht Club has hosted this international event. Get the full scoop inside, and also be sure to check out Erik Simonson’s eye-popping image gallery.
Also in this issue, be sure to read the latest on the AC, updates from the Clipper Around The World Race, and find out why the 2011 Melges 20 U.S. Nationals was fittingly re-dubbed the Irene Cup.
May the four winds blow you safely home,
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