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

Melges 32 racing

Light breezes, sunshine and a slight chop greeted the fleet for race one. Almost instantly Cruette played the right side rounding the weather mark in third behind Carlo Alberini (Pessaro, Italy) on Calvi Networkand Taselaar. Cruette extended downwind getting ahead of Alberini in second and Taselaar in third. The majority of the fleet was left for pressure, but Cruette held on for the finish. Taselaar eventually overtook Alberini in the light and shifty breeze for second. Ryan DeVos (Holland, Mich.) on Volpe moved up for a nice third place finish, Alberini settled for fourth. John Porter (Lake Geneva, Wisc.) on Full Throttle was fifth.

The second start of the day resulted in a massive number of OCSs including Porter, Kilroy and Stephen Pugh (San Francisco, Calif.) on Taboo. Cruette, on the other hand had a tremendous race going all out for the win. That’s not to say that the victory was an easy one. Don Jesberg (Mill Valley, Calif.) on Vivaand Bob Hesse (Elma, N.Y.) on Lake Effect came on strong to take an early leads with Cruette chomping at their heels heels, Alberini trailing. Woods, Taselaar, Alex Jackson (Riverside, Conn.) onLeenabarca, Jeff Ecklund (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) on STAR all took turns trying to edge an advantage, but Cruette had boat speed and apparently all the right things in place to turn a victory. Cruette went on for the win, Jesberg just made second over Hesse in third.

For the final race of the day, more light breeze played a big part in shaking up the results and mark roundings. Lanfranco Cirillo (Italy) on Fantastica shot out front with a great lead and at various moments throughout the race commanded by a minute and a half advantage. The real dogfight was for second. Fleet newcomer Carlo Perrone (Genova, Italy) on Atlantica 19 had a great day peaking the position for the first couple of legs, then overtook by Alberini and Phil Lotz (Newport, R.I.) on Arethusa. In the end, Cirillo simply ran away with the win, Alberini secured second place and in third was Lotz.

Sunday is the final day of racing and the regatta is anything but easily won or predicted. Cruette still needs to be on his guard as four points could easily be overcome by the likes of Taselaar, Woods, Ecklund or Porter. Mistakes are costly in this fleet and any slight errors could potentially turn the fleet and results into the unexpected.

Top Ten Results
1.) Teasing Machine, Jean-Francois Cruette; 5-1-1-[10]-9-1-1-10 = 28
2.) Bliksem, Pieter Taselaar; 1-2-[14]-6-2-2-7-12 = 32
3.) Red, Joe Woods; 2-[10]-4-4-10-6-4-9 = 39
4.) STAR, Jeff Ecklund; 4-4-[19]-3-1-17-5-11 = 45
5.) Full Throttle, John Porter; [12]-5-5-1-12-5-12-5 = 45
6.) Calvi Network, Carlo Alberini; 6-8-9-[13]-8-4-8-2 = 45
7.) Fantastica, Lanfranco Cirillo; 10-7-6-14-7-8-[22]-1 = 53
8.) Samba Pa Ti, John Kilroy; 3-6-12-5-5-14-10-[17] = 55
9.) Ninkasi, John Taylor; 7-11-8-7-3-[16]-16-8 = 60
10.) Arethusa, Phil Lotz; 11-13-11-12-13-10-[17]-3 = 73