Six Points Separate Top Three Going Into Final Day Of 2010 Melges 24 North American Championship
Rochester, NY, USA - 25 September 2010 - The sailors are enjoying the 2010 Melges 24 North American Championship in Rochester so much they don't want it to end! At the close of play yesterday seven races had been completed and with two days to go there were three more left to sail. But the sailors are loving the great conditions here on Lake Ontario and they want more so at this morning's competitor's briefing they took the unprecedented step of asking the Race Committee to give them extra races. With the unanimous agreement of all competitors and the approval of the Class and the Jury, the Race Committee was happy to oblige and so a change to sailing instructions was issued to increase the possible number of races from ten to fourteen.
With a resounding mandate from the sailors PRO Hank Stuart and his team headed afloat to deliver four more great championship races bring the total sailed so far to eleven. It was a tricky day of constantly shifting westerly winds ranging in strength from under 10 to over 20 knots, frequently all in the space of a single leg. There was a big swell left over after last night's storms giving exciting sleigh rides when the wind was up and seriously challenging seas when the wind was down.
Today's top performer was overnight leader Adam Burns sailing USA378 Presto who has extended to a six point overall lead. His 1, 2, 2, 3 score line made it look easy but in fact he had to work hard for those results. Perhaps his most impressive race was the ninth in which he was OCS. He rounded the first mark four boats from the back of the fleet but blasted his way through the pack to round the final mark three boats from the lead behind Henry Filter in USA721 Wild Child, Steve Kopf in USA773 Blur-Pacific Energy Ventures and Alan Field in USA811 WTF. The last run turned into a spectacular dog-fight between the four boats and as they surfed into the finish Burns almost had it, but a slight fumble on the gybe lost him ground and Filter crossed inches ahead with Kopf third and Field fourth.
Henry Filter had another excellent day only marred by being OCS in the final race when the Z Flag was in operation. Despite having to re-cross the start line he too showed incredible speed to claw back to second place but with the 20% Z Flag place penalty added to his score he ended up counting 6 points instead of two, his worst score of the regatta. His other scores of a second and two firsts were sufficient to leap frog him up into second place and onto equal points with Alan Field who found today's conditions tricky at times but came good to win the final race.
Burns also continues to lead the Corinthian, all amateur, competition in which he is just two points clear of Filter with August Hernandez sailing USA533 High Voltage in third place and Kevin Morgan sailing USA102 Bellatrix fourth.
Despite the big waves and at times strong winds today there were very few contenders for the Pusser's Wipeout Of The Day Award, but fortunately for our photographers Charlie Hess sailing USA615 Funtech Racing did the business during a spinnaker hoist in race nine. At this evening's prize giving ceremony Charlie put his hand up and admitted that the broach was entirely his fault - an admission his crew were clearly happy to support.
The regatta concludes tomorrow and with up to three more races possible and only six points separating the top three boats its going to be an exciting finale to an outstanding regatta. Racing is scheduled to start at 10.00 and there is a final warning signal time of 14.30 so weather permitting the Race Committee should be able to complete all races.
Overall Top Ten
1. Presto - Adam & Lori Burns - 20 pts
2. Wild Child - Henry Filter - 26 pts
3. WTF - Alan Field - 26 pts
4. Blur-Pacific Energy - Steve Kopf - 37 pts
5. Entourage Racing - Nick Amendola - 59 pts
6. High Voltage - August Hernandez - 66 pt
7. The Djinn - Ken Gray - 76 pts
8. Bellatrix -Kevin Morgan - 92 pts
9. PNW Rocks - Dan Kaseler - 100 pts
10. FUNTECH Racing - Charlie Hess - 102 pts
Corinthian Top Five
1. Presto - Adam & Lori Burns - 14 pts
2. Wild Child - Henry Filter - 16 pts
3. High Voltage - August Hernandez - 37 pts
4. Funtech Racing - Charlie Hess - 51 pts
5. &am
p;nbsp; Bellatrix - Kevin Morgan - 55 pts
FULL RESULTS
PHOTOGRAPHS
IMCA BLOG
EVENT FACEBOOK PAGE
Special thanks for today's photographs to Rochester Yacht Club Press Officer Betsy Lawless.
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