Yachts & Yachting Even Keels Article By Justin Chisholm

Top British Melges 24 crew and freelance journalist Justin Chisholm writes regularly for the well known UK sailing publication Yachts & Yachting. Here we reproduce Justin's recent contribution to the Even Keel column in which he brings us comments from many of the top competitors at last December's Corum Melges 24 World Championship.

The 2005 Melges 24 World Championships held at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo Florida in December attracted a hundred and two entries and was a vibrant illustration of the appeal of sportsboat racing. Regattas like this don’t just happen and preparations for this one had started over a year previously. A shake-down regatta at the end of 2004, intended as a low key affair to give the race committee and shore teams an idea of what was involved in running Melges 24 regatta, soon became a full-on, fifty-one boat event. Although mistakes were made and things did go wrong – including the collapse of part of the dock depositing a crane and its driver, along with two Melges trailers, into the marina – all of the competitors went away gagging for more. Lessons were learned and plans reviewed on a continuous basis during the next twelve months so that even an unwelcome visit from a hurricane in November could not prevent Championships going off without a hitch. I spoke to a cross section of the fleet to find out what their experience had been like and what they would take away from the event.

Marty Kullman steered USA 544 New Wave to twenty third place overall and victory in the hotly contested Corinthian Division. A newcomer to the Melges 24 fleet, having spent the last several years campaigning a Henderson 30, Marty was impressed with the Championships. “This event exceeded my expectations. I have competed in several international events previously including the J24 Worlds in 1991 and I can confidently say that this event was executed perfectly. The sailing, race management, social and logistics were all fantastic.” Marty believed that the competitors’ attitude contributed to the success of the event too. “We were aware that we were competing against the best sailors in the world but everyone sailed with respect for each other and the pros did not take advantage of the less talented sailors.” Which boat most impressed him during the Championships? “There were lots of teams to admire from a skills and results point of view but for me the one that stands out was Chuck Holzman and his guys on Flyer. During a spinnaker drop at a leeward mark rounding they touched the buoy without realising. When we hailed them they took their penalty immediately - just trusting us that we were right. That was a stand-up act of honesty.” From a personal of view what had been their biggest learn from the week? “We learned lots about boat handling – minor mistakes add up quickly in this class. For me it was how to start in a hundred-boat fleet. Beginning of the week I was holding back too much. I made a conscious decision in the middle of the week to be more aggressive.” Would the New Wave team be on the startline in Hyeres for the 2006 Worlds to defend their title? “We would love to be! But we are going to need a sponsor to make that happen!”

Andy Burdick, Vice President of Melges Performance Sailboats, sailed as tactician aboard Brian Porter’s USA600 Full Throttle finishing seventh overall. “I would rate this event in my top five simply because of the size of the fleet and the level of the competition. The fleet was stacked so the racing kept you honest. The number one regatta in my book is still the 127 boats La Rochelle Worlds in 2000.” Andy’s best and worst experiences of the 2005 Championships were on the water. “Ocean Reef is such a spectacular location that you could not have a bad experience ashore and we had six great days of sailboat racing against some of the world’s best sailors. Our week didn’t start off too well – we got pinned against the windward mark by another boat that infringed us. Instead of rounding fifth we eventually got round in the sixties, Not a fun way to start the event!” Without a doubt the team which most impressed Andy was the overall Championship winners James Spithill’s Luna Rossa. “We trained with them just prior to the event and we kept our boats together all week. They were very laid back but also always very focused on the task at hand. They never let a poor race bother them as they knew it was going to be a long week of racing. They managed to remain calm and were ready to pounce on whatever opportunities came along. In the end this strategy won the event for them.” What did the Full Throttle team learn at the championships? “From a boat tune point of view we learned that backstay was not always a good thing. We typically peg the backstay in the breeze but it was not fast this time round. Sometimes a loose mainsheet and no backstay was fast in the lump. Moving our backstay tension around really made the difference for us.” What would they have done differently? “Really nothing. We put in a big effort to do well in this regatta. We practiced hard, bought the right sails and were happy with our crew work. Looking back we would not change a thing – except maybe be at a different end on some of those starts!”

The British contingent at the worlds performed put up a good showing including three top fifteen finishers overall. Quentin Strauss’s GBR 431 Gill finished a close second at the European Championships a few months previously and several pundits had them earmarked for glory in Key Largo. Nigel Young, Gill tactician, explained that they found the week challenging. “We always aim for a top ten result but this time we started badly and found it really difficult to come back. It has taught us a lesson – more preparation is required for the big events – arrive a week earlier and start better!”
Reigning J80 World Champion Ruairidh Scott, a newcomer to the Melges fleet was at the helm of Joe Woods’ GBR 616 Red. Acting as stand in for the injured Woods he was pleased with his crew’s performance and their 33rd overall. “We had never sailed together before we arrived in Florida but these guys know their way round a Melges 24 so after a few days of practice it was clear we could justifiably aim to try to get inside the top thirty.” When asked their best result Scott was in two minds. “The best score was the fourth in race eight but I think we are more pleased with race nine. We were a few hundred yards up the first beat when we heard our number called OCS on the radio. By the time we had peeled off, sailed back and restarted we were pretty much DFL. So it was really satisfying that we managed to get back up to twentieth by the finish.”
Irish Olympian Mark Mansfield at the helm of the Team Gill GBR 592 for Simon Strauss finished as top UK boat in thirteenth overall. “In big fleets like this boatspeed is absolutely key – you can have second row starts and still catch up if you have great boatspeed. The boat which most impressed us was Dave Ullman on Pegasus 505. Those guys had consistently good boatspeed upwind all week and that’s why they made top three”

This event appears to have significantly raised the bar on staging a sportsboat championship. The great news for the Melges 24 class is that there is an equally dedicated team in France already working hard on making the 2006 Melges Worlds in Hyeres the best ever. Having raced there last year and been very impressed with the sailing area and the organisation I believe they have a great chance of doing just that.

Our thanks to Justin & YACHTS & YACHTING for this fascinating article.