Melges 24 Worlds 2015: The first leader comes from Czech Republic

30 June, 2015 - Middelfart, Denmark - The first day of the 2015 Melges 24 World Championship has finished in Middelfart, Denmark with a ninety-five boats on the starting line. The event is organized by Match Racing Denmark along with the Middelfart Sailing Club in cooperation with International Melges 24 Class Association. 

Light winds, sometimes quite like imperceptible, and some strong current did not prevent the Principal Race Officer Hank Stuart to complete three races, exploited by Czech Martin Trcka to bring his ICZ/Rodop CZE-704 (2-9-5) to the top spot of provisional standing with eleven point margin on EFG SUI-684 (6-2-19), helmed by Chris Rast from Switzerland winner of the Audi tron Sailing Series event in Porto Venere, and fifteen on Italian Maidollis ITA-822 (26-1-4) owned by Gianluca Perego and helmed by former Melges 24 World Champion Carlo Fracassoli, penalized due to an OCS under the Zulu flag.  

Martin Trcka - helm of the ICZ/Rodop CZE-704  © Pierrick Contin / IM24CA

Also in the top five we have Italian Marrakesch Express ITA-636 (5-29-2), with a former Italian Olympian and reigning Melges 24 European Champion Matteo Ivaldi at the helm, and the 2014 leader of the Melges 24 world ranking, Italian Audi tron ITA-840 (18-12-7), with Riccardo Simoneschi and Gabriele Benussi in the cockpit.  

The sixth spot of the standing is in the hands of the Estonian Tõnu Tõniste’s Lenny EST-790 (21-24-1), who is the first of the Corinthians in front of former Corinthian Storm Capital Sail Racing NOR-751 from Norway (51-4-18) with Øyvind Jahre in helm as a fifteenth in overall ranking; and Elsa DEN-808 (56-3-16) helmed by Jesper Baungaard as the seventeenth in overall ranking. 

Lenny EST-790 with Tõnu Tõniste in helm © Pierrick Contin / IM24CA

For the full results please visit http://www.melges24worlds15.dk/results-new 

Photo gallery by Pierrick Contin / IM24CA 
High resolution images are available to acredited media. For further information please E-mail Piret Salmistu 

Day 1 video edited by Zerogradinord - Mauro Melandri, Janna Buriani and Simona Bellobuono

Racing will resume tomorrow morning at 11 a.m.; wind will blow around 8-10 knots, with some puffs. Race Committee plans to have three races (the first discard will enter after the race number six). 

To follow the racing a greatest set ever of the manpower and equipment has been used. With three cameras on the water the streaming was produced by Zerogradinord and SportsXStream along with the International Melges 24 Class Association. Steve Ancsell from United Kingdom and Mauro Melandri as the official Event press Officer from Italy all three races were covered with an fascinating commentary about the racing and content about the Melges 24 Class. The link to the daily LiveStream can be found here http://www.sportsxstream.com/MultiLevelEvent/Melges-24-World-Championship-2015.html

Besides that, live from the Morning Briefing and after the racing dock chats were brought to the audience from the Middelfart Marina. International media team will broadcast such content daily until the end of the event. See emotional interviews and follow the action (https://livestream.com/zerogradinord/melges24worlds2015 ).

The days of the event are: 
Tuesday 30 of June to Sunday 5th of July: 2015 Melges 24 World Championship  
Sunday 5 of July: Closing Ceremony 
Full schedule of the event  

Event website: http://www.melges24worlds15.dk/  
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