Welch’s Mikey 2-0 For The 2017 Racing Season, Crowned Bacardi Champ

March 14, 2017 - Miami, USA - Bacardi Miami Sailing Week delivered nine amazing races in 2017, and at the top — 2017 Melges 24 Bacardi Champion Kevin Welch on Mikey with crew members Jason Rhodes, Ian Sloan, Serena Vilage and Ross McDonald. Photo - Pierrick Contin, Miami 2016

It was clearly a heated weekend of fantastic competition as John Brown aboard Brown Squirrel with Matt Pistay, Justin Hood and Kevin Jewett as crew claimed a well-deserved second place overall, followed by Bruce Ayres on Monsoon in third.

Brown had an early lead on Friday after three races, with Welch and Ayres duking it out on Saturday to overtake the second and third place positions. In the end, it was Welch who proved to be the strongest to take the final and overall trophy.

In the Corinthian corner, Atlanta’s KC Shannon on Shaka and Chicago’s Megan Ratliff on Decorum greased their all-amatuer wheels, making them the top two Corinthian teams to watch coming into the 2017 U.S. National Championship taking place in Charleston, SC on April 7-9. The Nationals will serve as Act 2 of the Quantum World Winter Series and the first stage of the NorAm Tour.

2017 Melges 24 Bacardi Full Results

Kevin Welch and Mikey at the Melges 24 Worlds 2016 in Miami - photo (c) Pierrick Contin