2022 U.S. Melges 24 National Championship at Pensacola Yacht Club - Overall
by U.S. Melges 24 Class Association 14 Nov 2022 17:03 AEDT
November 10-13, 2022
After 10 races completed over three days in beautiful Pensacola, Florida, the U.S. Melges 24 Class has crowned Brian Porter, owner and helm of Full Throttle along with 'his boys' — RJ Porter, Bri Porter and Matt Woodworth as 2022 National Champions.
Brian's results all weekend long never dipped below the top ten, eight of which finished him in the top five. "It feels good," said Porter when asked about how it felt to win at such a level in the Melges 24 Class.
Steve Suddath, equal the Class stalwart won the Corinthian division for a second time. Suddath helmed 3 1/2 Men with tactician Dave Chapin and crew members Steve and Shawn Burke. Suddath won his first Corinthian National Championship in 2019. "It was tough out there. It was challenging and the shifts were significant today, but we hung in there."
Taylor Canfield at the helm of Laura Grondin's Dark Energy finished the event in second place followed by Bruce Ayres' Monsoon.
Trailing by one point, finishing in second place Corinthian was Megan Ratliff's Decorum. Canada's Dan Berezin's Surprise captured the third place Corinthian position.
A Very Special Thanks
First and foremost, to all of the participants of the 2022 U.S. National Championship — thank you! Thanks to all who traveled from near and far to be with us... YOU made this one of the best National Championships ever.
A massive thanks to PRO Hal Smith and his very organized Race Management team. We are grateful for your hard work to make the racing the very best! A very special thanks to co-Chair LeAnne Pickering who handled the many details that went into making this event run super smooth, and last but never least — to PYC Commodore Tom Pace. Commodore Pace did so many things, but in particular got the press and media team around the course flawlessly, enabling us to post videos of the racing and lots of Melges 24 action photos for everyone who could not be with us!
We appreciate all the amazing gifts provided by event sponsors Zhik and Arntson Marine. Together they delivered some amazing prizes to several major award winners.
Save the Date
The 2023 Melges 24 U.S. National Championship will take place on October 6-8, hosted by the Lake Geneva Yacht Club in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin — home of the Melges 24! In 2023, the Melges 24 turns 30, so get ready to party! Stay close to all U.S. Melges 24 Class channels as big news and announcements are coming soon.
Overall Results: (top ten after 10 races)
1.) Brian Porter, Full Throttle - 1-2-4-4-5-[9]-4-4-3-6 = 33pts
2.) Taylor Canfield, Dark Energy B Team - [7]-7-7-5-1-6-1-5-1-2 = 35pts
3.) Bruce Ayres, Monsoon - 3-8-1-3-6-3-5-[9]-5-8 = 42pts
4.) Drew Freides, Pacific Yankee - [16/SCP]-1-10-1-11-2-2-2-7-7 = 43pts
5.) Victor Diaz de Leon, Raza Mixta - 8-6-[12]-6-7-8-3-6-2-3 = 49pts
6.) Harry Melges IV, Zenda Express - 2-4-8-2-13-35/UFD-7-10-11-4 = 61pts
7.) Chris Rast, Warcanoe B Team - [9]-5-9-8-9-7-6-8-4-5 = 61pts
8.) Richard Reid, Zingara - 12-12-5-[35/RET]-2-1-12-7-8-11 = 70pts
9.) Peter McClennen, Gamecock - 10-3-3-11-8-13-8-[14]-6-10 = 72pts
10.) Peter Karrie, Nefeli - 4-[21/SCP]-6-13-4-11-13-1-13-12 = 77pts
Corinthian Results: (top ten after 10 races)
1.) Steve Suddath, 3 1/2 Men - 126pts
2.) Megan Ratliff, Decorum - 127pts
3.) Dan Berezin, Surprise - 152pts
4.) Fred Rozelle, Rustler - 163pts
5.) John Alden Meade, Dansoux - 178pts
6.) Tom Ritter, Tramp - 187pts
7.) KC Shannon, Shaka - 193pts
8.) Scot Zimmerman, Bad Idea - 197pts
9.) Scott Sonnier, Revolution - 199pts
10.) Brent McKenzie, Ex-Kahn - 212pts
Full results available here.