Another glorious day of Melges 32 racing

For Porter, this was a return to the fleet after a two-year hiatus. “It’s a great fleet. The sailors that are here are all really good. There are 23 of the world’s best tacticians here. Out of 23 teams, there are about 15-18 that you can really count on to be in contention to win races,” says Porter. “There are great main trimmers and a lot of really great sailors all over this fleet. I mean they are really, really good. It’s unbelievable. Some of these pros out here would not be doing that well if it weren’t for all the other great sailors on the boats with them. That’s why this fleet is so much fun. This is the place to be right now.”

He was also quick to give credit where credit is due, “I really have to give it to our tactician Jonathan McKee, especially Andy Burdick and Federico Michetti as well as my whole crew as they were really the ones I think put us into great position for the mark roundings. Downwind, we were fast the entire regatta, so we felt pretty comfortable.”

Jeff Madrigali called tactics for Ecklund’s STAR. “These were tough conditions. If you got in the pack, it was really tough to find a fast lane,” commented Madrigali following Friday’s racing. “There’s only but so much space. So, a lot of times you know where to go, but then there’s someone in your way, so then you have to deal with the bad air or find another way.”

Going into today’s races, Cruette held the fleet leader position, extending his advantage by four points. Taselaar was seated in second place with Woods in third.

The first race of the day was a Course 4 with Bob Hesse (Elma, N.Y.) on Lake Effect getting in on the top dog action. A strong start ended with an incredible win for Hesse. However, his efforts did not go unchallenged. The likes Ecklund, Porter (Lake Geneva, Wisc.) and John Taylor (Jupiter Island, Fla.) onNinkasi all were looking aiming for the lead. Hesse ultimately took first, Ecklund was second and in third was Taylor.

Race two of the day and final in the series was a healthy five-legger rounding out an incredible event. Tough breaks were immediately felt as John Kilroy (Los Angeles, Calif.) on Samba Pa Ti, Joe Woods (Torquay, UK) on Red, Yukihiro Ishida (Tokyo, Japan) on Yasha Samurai and Dalton DeVos (Holland, Mich.) on Delta were all OCS. Porter led the pack around the track, followed by Don Jesberg (Mill Valley, Calif.) on Viva and Ecklund third. The fleet battled through the gate, back to the top with Porter taking the lead to the finish line. Ecklund challenged Jesberg for second place on a number of occasions, however Jesberg and tactician Zarko Draganic remained steadfast, Ecklund settled for third.

A very special thanks to all the competitors that traveled to Miami to make the Melges 32, not only the hottest supersonic sportboat on the planet, but also the largest fleet in attendance with the toughest, tightest competition to be found. As always, an extra special thanks to Peter Craig and his team with Premiere racing. Kudos to you for another great event!

Top Ten Results
1.) Teasing Machine, Jean-Francois Cruette; 5-1-1-10-9-1-1-10-[11]-6 = 44
2.) Full Throttle, John Porter; [12]-5-5-1-12-5-12-5-4-1 = 50
3.) STAR, Jeff Ecklund; 4-4-[19]-3-1-17-5-11-2-3 = 50
4.) Bliksem, Pieter Taselaar; 1-2-[14]-6-2-2-7-12-14-5 = 51
5.) Red, Joe Woods; 2-[10]-4-4-10-6-4-9-7-7 = 53
6.) Calvi Network, Carlo Alberini; 6-8-9-[13]-8-4-8-2-13-4 = 62
7.) Samba Pa Ti, John Kilroy; 3-6-12-5-5-14-10-[17]-9-10 = 74
8.) Ninkasi, John Taylor; 7-11-8-7-3-16-16-8-3-[20] = 79
9.) Fantastica, Lanfranco Cirillo; 10-7-6-14-7-8-[22]-1-22-12 = 87
10.) Volpe, Ryan DeVos; 19-[23]-15-2-15-3-14-6-8-8 = 90

To no big surprise, reigning World Champion Pieter Taselaar (New York, N.Y.) on Bliksemcommands the Melges 32 fleet

Two more incredible races took place under plentiful sunshine, crystal-clear-as-a-bell blue skies, cool temps and light breezes ranging 10-12 knots. Outfront quick was John Porter (Lake Geneva, Wisc.) onFull Throttle. Porter packed on the speed and played the shifts earning a minute and a half advantage over the fleet for the win. The real duel was for second place, where Ryan Devos (Holland, Mich.) onVolpe and Jeff Ecklund (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) on STAR played the last shifty downwind run chasing for second place. It was a photo finish as DeVos jibed with just enough momentum to put his Melges 32 across the line a nose in front of Ecklund. Woods kept the pace to finish fourth and in fifth was John Kilroy (Los Angeles, Calif.) on Samba Pa Ti.

The second and last race of the day brought on lighter breezes than the first, a Course 5 @ 345 with the usual 1.8nm distance and flat water. Ecklund got a great start placing him first around the mark, with Taselaar hot on his heels immediately jibing out for clean air and more pressure. Stuart Simpson (London, UK) on Team Barbarians and John Taylor (Jupiter Island, Fla.) on Ninkasi rounded fourth and fifth respectively. Taselaar progressively, but not easily overtook the lead from Ecklund passing through the bottom gate, then back around the final weathermark of the race. It was Ecklund’s turn to fight back banging the right side of the course successfully regaining the lead from Taselaar. Ecklund took it to the finishline, with Taselaar finishing second. Taylor had a great day scoring third, Yukihiro Ishida (Tokyo, Japan) on Yasha Samarai was fourth. Kilroy was fifth.

Looking at the overall results, Taselaar leads by one very slim point heading into Saturday’s racing. Three races are scheduled and to make things even more interesting, discards go into effect after six. The move of the day goes to Jeff Ecklund’s STAR as a productive performance on the water moved them up from tenth overall to fourth. Porter made a nice stride as well moving from ninth to sixth.

Top Ten Results
1.) Bliksem, Pieter Taselaar; 1-2-14-6-2 = 25
2.) Teasing Machine, Jean-Francois Cruette; 5-1-1-10-9 = 26
3.) Red, Joe Woods; 2-10-4-4-10 = 30
4.) STAR, Jeff Ecklund; 4-4-19-3-1 = 31
5.) Samba Pa Ti, John Kilroy; 3-6-12-5-5 = 31
6.) Full Throttle, John Porter; 12-5-5-1-12 = 35
7.) Ninkasi, John Taylor; 7-11-8-7-3 = 36
8.) Fantastica, Lanfranco Cirillo; 10-7-6-14-7 = 44
9.) Calvi Network, Carlo Aberini; 6-8-9-13-8= 44
10.) Yasha Samurai, Yukihiro Ishida; 17-15-13-8-4 = 57