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Rochester, NY, USA - 6 August 2010 - With just under two months to go until the 2010 Melges 24 North American Championship, event hosts at the beautiful and historic Rochester Yacht Club are working around the clock to guarantee a perfect regatta while coming up with creative solutions to make it easier for visiting teams to attend. Event Chairman Peter Cucci has been looking forward to this premier continental championship for more than a year. "Like most Melges 24 owners, I just want to see as much great racing as possible, and the past couple of years have been tough for pretty much all types of racing." he said. "That's why we're so excited to host the 2010 North American Championship - because it's just the kind of event that we need to give the class the traditional kick-start necessary as it builds back up towards a US-based World Championship.&nbs
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US Melges 24 Class President Steve Kopf agrees. "Rochester will provide a number of things that are essential to the majority of Melges 24 owners - awesome freshwater racing conditions, the absolute best in race management, great onshore activities, and an affordable and fun city that's just a few hundred miles from literally hundreds of existing boats," Kopf said. "Lots of people wouldn't know that Rochester has been voted one of the top vacation destinations in the country, and I, for one, am very psyched to check it out."
Event and Sponsors Work To Clear Hurdles For Travelling Teams
The US Class's new focus on motivating club and regional racers to travel to events is evident. "We know that traveling to major events has been the single biggest factor in our success in our own regional fleet," said Detroit team owner and US Class Vice President Paul Hulsey. Cucci says that Rochester Yacht Club is "doing everything it can" to make it easier for traveling teams. "We've arranged a great discount rate from the excellent Hampton Inn Hotel just down the road from the club, and we're working on helping find host housing for teams that need the help," said Cucci. "We know that times are tough, but there's simply nothing like competing at a major Class championship to get your team up to speed and ready for all the Melges 24 action over the next 10 months, and both we and our sponsors are going to provide all the help we can to get the maximum number of teams to town."
Hulsey says that the average owner "shouldn't be intimidated" by the talent in the class. "There's only one way to improve your racing, and that's by racing against the best, then asking them how to go faster once you hit the dock" he explained. "That's one of the best things about this class - the camaraderie and helpfulness of both regional standouts and international professionals lets you know that you belong to something special."
Field A Favorite To Dominate Field
In a Class where the entry list often includes the Who's Who of our sport Alan Field and his California-based WTF team, which includes Olympic 470 sailor and high school team coach Steve Hunt, decorated Santa Ana sailmaker Erik Shampain, Med Cup veteran Jeff Reynolds and Civil Engineer Sarah Curran are on a roll. Field's team has won almost every major US ranking event in 2009 and 2010, most recently dominating the fleet at the 2010 Newport US National Championship just three years after buying his first Melges 24. "We're loving the competition, and it's immensely rewarding to go from nothing to a national champion in a class filled with so many great sailors, for which I have both my crew and the other teams to thank," said Field. "But the boat is its own reward - there is nothing quite as fun as screaming downwind in 25 knots with the boat on rails, and I hope we see some of that in Rochester." Read a recent International Melges Class interview with Field here.
Class Championship Coordinator Named PRO
Aside from great sailing conditions and a "10 best" destination venue, the Rochester NAs has another fortuitous coincidence to help entice sailors to the NA Championship; it's the home club of International Melges 24 Class Championship Coordinator Hank Stuart, one of the world's top Principal Race Officers. "Acting as PRO for this event at my own Club will be a real highlight for me," said Stuart, who served as PRO for smooth-running Melges 24 World Championships in 2005, 2007 and 2008, and will also be on the Race Committee for the 2010 Marinepool Melges 24 Worlds in Tallinn from 7-12 August. "The Class has been at the forefront of one-design racing for so long, and it's been a privilege to be involved in some of the progressive thinking that's allowed it to prosper for almost two decades now." Teams can certainly count on race management that is second to none. You can read more about Hank in this interview at the 2011 European Championship website.
About The 2010 North American Championship
Governed by the International Melges 24 Class and hosted by the Rochester Yacht Club in Rochester, NY, the 2010 Melges 24 North American Championship is one of the most prestigious events on the continent. This year's event takes place from September 20th to 26th, and will feature some of the top talent in the sportboat class that defines the genre, and the only sportboat one-design class that has no restrictions on crew or helmsman. You can learn more about the Rochester Yacht Club here, check out the event website here, and join the Rochester North American Championship Facebook page here for up-to-the-minute info about the event.
About The Sponsors
Rochester Yacht Club and the International Melges 24 Class are proud to welcome the support of Pusser's Rum as the Official Rum of the 2010 Melges 24 North Americans. Pusser's join fellow event sponsors Latis Yachting Solutions, Annapolis Performance Sailing, Shumway Marine, Quantum Sails, and Sail22.
Pusser's Rum is the Original Navy Rum that was served onboard ships of the Royal Navy for 330 years. The "single malt of rum", father of grog, and key ingredient of the world-famous Pusser's Painkiller, Pusser's Rum is
recognized as the world's most rich and full-flavoured rum. Unlike most other rums of today, it's totally natural. No flavouring agents are used. Pusser's owes its rich and unique flavour to its distillation in wood. It is still distilled in wood; hand-crafted in the inefficient and costly old way in wooden pot-stills. To find your nearest stockist or country agent for Pusser's Rum visit: www.pussers.com/find/.
About The Melges 24
The reputation of the Melges 24® precedes itself. Best known for its very competitive disposition and easy-to-sail personality, this modern sportboat maintains its status as a leader in high-performance, one design yachting. With more than 800 boats sold, it continues a humbling tradition of America's Cup, Olympic Medallists, Volvo Ocean Race recruitment, and remains the only successful one-design sportboat with no restrictions on professional crews, instead offering "Corinthian Class" awards for top amateur performance at major events. Looking to improve on tactics and boat handling skills? The Melges 24 builds better sailors.
The 2010 Marinepool Melges 24 World Championship is taking place in Tallinn, Estonia, from 7-13 August 2010 with 84 entries from across Europe, Japan and South Africa. You can follow the action from this event live via the IMCA Blog, www.melges24.com and the Event Website.
Members of the press who would like to receive further information about the 2010 Melges 24 North American Championship or who wish to attend the event should contact IMCA Administrator & Media Coordinator Fiona Brown on Fiona.brown@melges24.com, Skype fpbrown or Tel +44 (0)7711 718470.
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