Melges 14 US National Championship - Preview
by Hannah Noll 13 Jun 2018 15:01 PDT
15-17 June 2018
Rigging up for the Melges 14 US National Championship © Hannah Nol
A squadron of Melges 14s from all around the country is assembling for the first annual Melges 14 US National Championship, to be held June 15–17 at the Lake Geneva Yacht Club. It's set to be a beautiful Wisconsin summer weekend with Mother Nature lining up three days of medium breeze, eighty degrees and sunshine.
This weekend will see some big names vie for the first national title in the new singlehanded class from Melges. Many have eyes on seventeen year old 49er Olympic campaigner Harry Melges IV sailing on his home waters of Lake Geneva. Fresh off his Melges 14 Spring Fling regatta win, Adam Ankers is coming up from Chattanooga, Tennessee's healthy M14 fleet. Ankers took second place at the Melges 14 Midwinter Championship and is hungry to dethrone "H4" this time. Daniel Thielman, hailing from San Francisco's Corinthian Yacht Club, is always a strong competitor in both the Melges 14 and Melges 20 Classes and is not to be underestimated. The title for Top Woman will see the close battle and a Midwinters rematch between Peyton Ankers (Chattanooga, TN) and Jennifer Canestra (San Francisco, CA).
The Melges 14 Class is always delighted to see new faces in the mix. It's the first Melges 14 regatta for the boat's designer, John Reichel of Reichel/Pugh, Dave Powlison of Sailing World Magazine, and US Olympic Sailing Team Chief Business Officer Jim Campbell. The fleet welcomes regatta newcomers Ryan Matustik, Mickey Thompson, David Oliver, Dan Markowitz, and Richard Chapman.
The Lake Geneva Yacht Club is home to one of the largest Melges 14 fleets in the country and is rolling out the red carpet for regatta competitors. Nine races are scheduled over the three day event. Sailors will be greeted with delicious breakfast each morning as well as a social event on Saturday evening featuring Lakefront Brewery's most popular selections paired with Chef Zach Miller's Wisconsin themed bites.
Results will be available at the event website: lgyc.com/2018-melges-14-us-nationals
The next championship on the Melges 14 circuit is the Melges 14 Southern Championship at Atlanta's Lake Lanier Sailing Club October 28-28.