With breeze on conditions forecasted, 15 Audi Melges 20s made their way out on to the race course for the first day at Bacardi’s Miami Sailing Week, hosted in part by Coconut Grove Sailing Club (CGSC), supported by Shake-A-Leg Miami and Melges Performance Sailboats. Leading the field of fierce competitors is 2010 Miami Winter Series leader Jeff Ecklund (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) on STAR, followed closely by Peter Keck (Lake Geneva, Wisc.) on M & M Sailing. In third, is Michael Kiss (Macatawa Bay, Mich.) on Bacio.

Three great, short and sweet (1.0 nm), Course 4 races were held under mostly cloudy skies. Racing commenced on time with Marc Hollerbach (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.) on Fu and Kiss rounding dead even at the first mark challenging one another for the lead. Hollerbach won the offset with Kiss in tow, then Ecklund, Eric Wynsma (East Grand Rapids, Mich.) on Superfly and Joel Ronning (Excelsior, Mn.) on Catapult in fifth. Ecklund slowly but surely advanced to the front, overtaking the lead position for the win. Wynsma came on strong to take second with Hollerbach holding in to finish third.

Race two presented another pretty aggressive start with Keck and Ronning having great starts. Ronning surged to round the first mark in the lead with Ecklund and Wynsma looking to get in on the top spot action. Keck made great progress all race long, eventually working his way into the third position. It wasn’t until the last beat and run to the finish that Ecklund found a fast lane to beat Ronning to the finish, taking his second bullet of the day. Ronning, with Bill Hardesty calling tactics held on for second, and Keck took third.

The last and final race of the day witnessed peeks of sunshine and a lot lighter air than what the fleet originally started with. Race three was all Keck. It was a stellar performance as he placed himself, with Sam Rogers as tactician and Bill Ward aboard, miles ahead of the fleet to take an indisputable win. Hollerbach, who started along side of Keck at the pin end, also had a great race to finish in second. Despite a poor start, Ecklund fought back with great conviction to take the third spot, allowing him to capture the first place overall lead.

Post race, Melges Performance Sailboats’ Andy Burdick presented another informative tech-talk episode featuring Steve Hunt, tactician aboard Hollerbach’s Fu, Marc Hollerbach; Morgan Reeser and Scott Nixon, tactician aboard Chuck Holzman’s Flyer. Video uploads of all the discussions will be made available shortly via the Official Audi Melges 20 Class YouTube Channel.

More great racing continues on Friday, with three more races scheduled and anticipated big breeze conditions. Ecklund is the overall leader with Keck in second, only behind three slim points. Kiss is in third, with a total of 13 points.

TOP TEN RESULTS (After 3 Races)
1.) Jeff Ecklund, STAR; 1-1-3 = 5
2.) Peter Keck, M&M Sailing; 4-3-1 = 8
3.) Michael Kiss, Bacio; 5-4-4 = 13
4.) March Hollerbach, Fu; 3-9-2 = 14
5.) Eric Wynsma, Superfly; 2-5-7 = 14
6.) Chuck Holzman, Flyer; 6-6-5 = 17
7.) Joel Ronning, Catapult; 9-2-8 = 19
8.) Erwyn Naidoo, Bohica; 7-8-6 = 21
9.) Robert Wilber, Cinghaile; 10-7-10 = 27
10.) Chris Dold/Peter Kozicz, CAN-142; 8-10-11 = 29

February 20, 2010 (Miami, Fla.) –

The fleet was just itching to go and becoming impatient. With the sound of Golison’s air horn the fleet assembled for the first start. A Course 4 and bearing of 155, the start was clean with series leader Jeff Ecklund (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) onSTAR, Eric Wynsma (East Grand Rapids, Mich.) on Superfly and Rob Wilber (Stony Creek, Conn.) on Cinghiale heading left for pressure. Wynsma was strong rounding the weathermark in first, Ecklund in second and fleet newcomer John Lucas (Charleston, S.C.) on I-14 in third. By the final downwind leg of the race, Wynsma was ahead by a substantial margin with Ecklund jibing out for clean air and pressure in hopes of taking the win. Wynsma beat him to the line by a couple of boat lengths despite Ecklund making good progress taking a firm second place. Wilber was third.

Race 2 of the day was started almost immediately with Ecklund hammering the fleet with some nice speed and smooth boat handling for the win. Onboard with Ecklund is tactician Harry Melges and Bar Batzer of Morning Light fame. “I really pay attention to the angle of heel. It’s everything. Keeping the boat flat is key. By doing so, I can feel the energy of the boat going forward. I watch the front end of the kite too for indications of what to do before it even happens. All this is especially important in conditions like today,” said Ecklund during the post-race press conference/tech-talk. Out front early, off the start and around the mark in first was Erik Post (Winnetka, Ill.) on Via Con Dios. Post had a spectacular race, edging Ecklund for the lead up until the last upwind leg. The two rounded almost simultaneously, going to opposite gates. Ecklund looked right for and advantage and took the lead. Michael Kiss (Macatawa Bay, Mich.) on Bacio had a great race place coming from behind to take the second place position from Post who eventually settled for third. Well-known A Scow sailor Joel ‘Rock Star’ Ronning (Excelsior, Minn.) on Catapult took fourth and Mary Anne Ward (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) on M&M Sailing rounded out the top five.

On the way in, Audi Melges 20 manufacturer Melges Performance Sailboats made sure the fleet had plenty of beer in hand for the drive back AND more waiting at the docks when they arrived.

Melges’ Andy Burdick also conducted a very informative question and answer session. The conversation involved the only lady helm in the fleet, Ward and her tactician Sam Rogers, Ecklund, Melges and Wally Cross, tactician for Wynsma. For almost an hour the fleet listened closely as Melges and Cross divulged their rig and tune set-up secrets of the day, while the helms discussed where their comfort levels were while racing in conditions as tough and challenging as the ones witnessed today.

For Sunday, the fleet will be on its feet bright and early as the on-the-water excitement will start an hour earlier than previously scheduled.

TOP TEN RESULTS (After two races)
1.) Jeff Ecklund, STAR; 2-1 = 3
2.) Eric Wynsma, Superfly; 1-7 = 8
3.) Michael Kiss, Bacio; 9-2 = 11
4.) Mary Anne Ward, M&M Sailing Team; 7-5 = 12
5.) Erik Post, Via Con Dios; 11-3 = 14
6.) Robert Wilber, Cinghiale; 3-11 = 14
7.) Joel Ronning, USA-148; 10-4 = 14
8.) John Lucas, I-14; 4-10 = 14
9.) David Hammett, Simplified Sophistication; 8-8 = 16
10.) John Arendhorst, Blink; 12-6 = 18