Charleston Gears Up For Melges 24 US Nationals As Lake Balaton Prepares For Opening European Sailing Series Event

Crews are gathering in Charleston, South Carolina, today in preparation for the 2013 Melges 24 US National Championship, being held in association with Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week.  With 36 teams from across North America and Europe competing including many of the big names in the class (full entry list), we can expect some cutthroat racing as crews vie for the National Championship and prepare for the 2014 Sperry Top-Sider Melges 24 World Championship which takes place in San Francisco from 30 September to 5 October.  Alongside great racing the teams can expect to receive a fabulous southern welcome and plenty of that legendary Charleston hospitality.  You will be able to keep up with the latest news from the event via the USMCA's Facebook page and we'll bring you daily racing reports right here.

Meanwhile in Europe there is now just one week to go until the start of the new Melges 24 European Sailing Series.  The opening event in the 2013 series is the Melges 24 Balaton Regatta where 25+ teams are expected to compete with crews from Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Germany, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic making their way to Balatonfured on the shores of beautiful Lake Balaton entered.  This is the opening savlo in a five event series that also takes in Kiel Week (22-26 June), Torbole Melges 24 Week (26-28 July), the Melges 24 European Championship (16-24 August) and the Norwegian Open Championship (6-8 September).  Entries are still being taken for the event and more information is available at the event website.  Facebook updates from this event will be posted via the IMCA Facebook page and again we'll bring you news reports right here.

For a full list of the Melges 24 North American, European and Australasian ranking series events please visit www.melges24.com