Bruce Ayres Takes Charge Of The 2009 Autonet Mobile Melges 24 Nationals

Bruce Ayres on USA-747 Monsoon with Don Smith, Jon Pinckney and Dave Shelton are in the overall lead at the 2009 Autonet Mobile Melges 24 U.S. National Championship. In second is Vince Brun on USA-553 Bailout, equal with Ayres in the points standing. Defending champion Brian Porter on USA-749 Full Throttle is third.

The first day of racing got underway with ideal racing conditions. The fleet thoroughly enjoyed three amazing races and big breeze starting out at 15 knots and gradually building to 22-24 knots by the end of the day.

The first race was a winner for Brun as he took charge of the fleet early and carried the lead across the finish line. Porter was second and in third, was Guy Mossman from Charleston S.C. on USA-786 Battle Rhythm. Mossman is a Melges 24 class veteran, just took delivery of a brand new boat back in February and has really stepped up his game. Sailing with Guy this weekend is Chris Rast, Sam Rogers, Dan Morris and Lindsay Bartel.

Dave Ullman on USA-505 Pegasus 505 recovered nicely from a sixth place finish in race one with a massive lead on the fleet in race two. Once out front, he stayed out front for the win. Ayres did well finishing second, and in third was Porter.

Race three of the day brought out the best in competition between Mossman, Ullman and Brun with Ayres trying to get in on a piece of the action at the start. Mossman was quick to get out front and lead the fleet with Porter trailing. Ullman and Brun battled to overtake Mossman, both managing to get out front. For the finish, the lead pack of Brun, Ayres, Porter and Ullman separated themselves from the fleet, about a minute ahead of the fifth place boat. Ayres kept tight with Brun, eventually getting the gun. Brun settled for second, Porter was third and Ullman took fourth. Mossman finished fifth.

TOP TEN RESULTS (After three races)
1.) Bruce Ayres, Monsoon
2.) Vince Brun, Bailout
3.) Brian Porter, Full Throttle
4.) Dave Ullman, Pegasus 505
5.) Guy Mossman, Battle Rhythm
6.) Matt MacGregor, Elwood
7.) Loren Colehan, Lounge Act
8.) Dan Kaseler, pTeron
9.) Peter Lane, Brickhouse 539
10.) Kristen Lane, Brickhouse 623

CORINTHIAN HEAT
Ayres also is the overnight leader in the Corinthian Division. In second Corinthian, is Matt MacGregor on USA-401 Elwood from Seattle, Wash., sixth overall. Loren Colehan on USA-556 Lounge Act is third Corinthian, eighth overall.

TOP FIVE RESULTS (After three races)
1.) Bruce Ayres
2.) Matt MacGregor
3.) Loren Colehan
4.) Kevin Clark
5.) Christopher Farkas

Full results are available at the Official Event Website for the 2009 Autonet Mobile Melges 24 U.S. National Championship.

LIVE REGATTA COVERAGE OF AUTONET MOBILE NATIONALS
Today the Autonet Mobile Tech team struggled to work on several technical difficulties, but we hope that tomorrow it will be resolved. Same link, same approximate time.

Capture this link: http://www.autonetmobile.com/webcam/ and tune-in between the hours of 11:00 - 16:00 PDT, (14:00 - 19:00 EST and/or 13:00 - 18:00 CST)

The official apparel sponsor for the 2009 Autonet Mobile Melges 24 U.S. National Championship is SLAM. Latis Yachting Solutions is the official transportation and logistics supplier. Other sponsors supporting the Autonet Mobile Nationals are, based in San Francisco, BPM — Burr, Pilger and Mayer — the largest non-national accounting and business-consulting firm in the Bay Area, Velocitek, K&L Gates, KRT Marketing and Hutchinson Sports. Also supporting the event is the U.S. Melges 24 Class Association, San Francisco Melges 24 Fleet and the St. Francis Yacht Club.

Visit the official class websites of the International Melges 24 Class Association (IMCA) and U.S. Melges 24 Class Association (USMCA). Also bookmark the Official Blog of the Melges 24. The Melges 24 can also be followed on Twitter at Melges24 and USMelges24.

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Autonet Mobile is the world’s first in-car internet service provider. Founded by a corporate executive and former race car driver and a leading network architect and designer, the company is dedicated to enhancing the in-car experience by bringing the power of the internet to the 200+ million cars on the road in the U.S. For more information about Autonet Mobile, visit www.autonetmobile.com.

Visit the official 2009 Autonet Mobile Melges 24 U.S. National Championship Website for more information. Also, visit the St. Francis Yacht Club online.

The Melges 24 is designed by Reichel Pugh and considered the most unique one design sportboat 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 (IMCA) and U.S. Melges 24 Class Association (USMCA). Also bookmark the Official Blog of the Melges 24. The Melges 24 can also be followed on Twitter at Melges24 and USMelges24.

For more information or press photos, please contact:
Joy Dunigan
U.S. Melges 24 Class Association (USMCA)
2009 Autonet Mobile Melges 24 U.S. National Championship Press Officer
Class Communications Director | Executive Secretary
+1 (912) 398-5776
Skype: joysavannah