All Set To Go In Rochester On Eve Of 2010 Melges 24 North American Championship
Registration is now complete and the crews are all set to go for the 2010 Melges 24 North American Championship which gets underway at the Rochester Yacht Club on Lake Ontario, tomorrow morning. With ten races scheduled over four days, a forecast for good winds and the cream of the Melges 24 North American fleet in town its all set to be a great regatta.
Today the competitors and the race committee got the opportunity to flex their muscles with some informal practice racing. PRO Hank Stuart and his team ran a number of training starts plus two short races and whilst the competitors made the most of the chance to get a feel for the race area he and his team also practiced mark moving, line resetting and even what to do in the event that a mark goes missing so everyone is well prepared for tomorrow's first start which is scheduled for 10.00am.
This evening the teams are out on the club deck enjoying the opening ceremony featuring the Melges Performance Sailboats Cookout, Pusser's Painkillers, Lake Beverage Corporation beer sponsored by Latis Yachting Solutions and the amazing Dirty Bourbon Blues Band. Vice Commodore Keith Burhans welcomed the teams to the Rochester Yacht Club, Regatta Co-Chair Megan Cucci thanked the many sponsor who have generously contributed to the event and USMCA President Steve Kopf thanked the Rochester Yacht Club and looked forward to four days of exciting racing and outstanding New York hospitality.
Pete Cucci, Regatta Co-Chair, commented "We're looking forward to showing the class what Lake Ontario has to offer in sailing challenges. We're expecting 10-15 knots tomorrow and possibly up to 30 knots on Saturday and with some good frontal systems coming through we should get a great range of conditions and some warm fall weather to keep everyone happy. We have a geographically broad competitor field here with boats coming from California, Canada, Florida and points in between.
"After today's rain showers we were very happy to enjoy clearing skies, warm breezes, a rising full moon and our high school sailing team taking part in Wednesday night racing as a backdrop to our opening ceremony. We're very grateful to our event sponsors for all their support; tonight Melges Performance Sailboats, Pusser's Rum, Latis Yachting Solutions and Lake Beverage Corporation stepped up and later in the week we have additional support from the US Melges 24 Class, Coral Reef, Ikon Document Efficiency, Shumway Marine, Kodak, Coca-Cola, APS, Quantum Sails, North Sails, Sail 22, Doyle Security Systems and West Marine."
With entries from across the USA and Canada the competition will be as fierce as ever. The Corinthian Division for the event is particularly strong with more than half the teams eligible for the all-amateur element of the competition. Those with hopes of getting their name on the overall trophy include hot favorite Alan Field from California, Steve Kopf from South Carolina, Henry Filter of Annapolis, August Hernandez from Chicago, Adam Burns from New York state and Canada's Rob Butler. Filter, Hernandez, Burns and Butler are also eligible for the Corinthian Division and naturally all have their sights set on becoming the first team to take both trophies. There are ten races scheduled over four days, a minimum of five races are required to complete the series and once six races have been sailed there will be a single discard. Racing opens tomorrow and concludes on Sunday 26 September.
For further information about the regatta please visit the Event Website. Regular updates will also be posted on the International Melges 24 Blog.
The 2010 Melges 24 North American Championship is sponsored by:-
Pusser's Rum - The Official Rum of the 2010 Melges 24 North Americans
Weather Routing Inc.- The Official Weather Forecast Provider of the 2010 Melges24 North Americans
Coral Reef Sailing Apparel - The Official Apparel Provider of the 2010 Melges 24 North Americans
Melges Performance Sailing
Ikon Document Efficiency
Shumway Marine
Kodak
Coca-Cola
Latis Yachting Solutions
APS
Quantum Sail Design Group
North Sails
Lake Beverage Corporation
Sail22, LLC
Doyle Security Systems
West Marine
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.
>Visit the Official Event Website of the 2010 Melges 24 North American Championship.
The Melges 24 is designed by Reichel Pugh and considered the most unique one design sportsboat in the world as well as one of the fastest-growing classes of high performance yachts. For more information, visit the official class websites of the International Melges 24 Class Association and the United States Melges 24 Class Association.
For more information please contact:
Fiona Brown
International Melges 24 Class Administrator & Media Coordinator
fiona.brown@melges24.com
Skype fpbrown
Tel +44 (0)7711 718470
Betsy Lawless
RYC Press Officer
Blawless@frontiernet.net
Skype betsy.lawless
Tel +1 585 739 7248
Peter & Megan Cucci
Regatta Organising Committee Co-Chairs
M24na@rochesteryc.com
Tel Megan +1 585 230 5196