Tight at top of Melges 20 Nationals

Newport, RI (August 18, 2017) – The second day of the 2017 Melges 20 US National Championship completed four more races, and now after six of eight races and the discard in play, it has become more of a two horse race as the 18-boat field makes the turn for the home stretch.

Day one leader Drew Freides’ Pacific Yankee with crew Morgan Reeser and Charlie Smythe posted a 3-2-2-1 to remain on top, but John Kilroy’s Samba Pa Ti with Paul Goodison and Jeff Reynolds rocked the day with a 1-1-1-5 to now sit only one point behind.

In third overall is Liam Kilroy on Wild Man, just six points off the lead. Two more races are planned tomorrow to conclude the series.

Racing recap:
Racing began on time with a slightly pin-favored line and a slack tide that left the fleet guessing as to which side would pay on the first upwind beat. What would turn out to be a consistent theme throughout the day, teams that were able to extend to the far left side hooked into steady left-hand breeze and sailed a much more favorable angle to the mark than those who tacked to leeward.

Showing a return in top-form, 2014-2015 Class World Champ John Kilroy on SAMBA PA TI took the bullet in Race Three, followed by his son Liam on WILDMAN. Overnight leader Drew Freides on PACIFIC YANKEE came third.

With a full flood tide prior to the start of Race Four, teams that were able to touch into the left side of the course first, showed patience, took advantage and made big gains. For most of the race, Jason Michas and his team on MIDNIGHT BLUE showed consistent speed and smarts to lead. However, on the final run, Michas gybed early allowing both Kilroy and Freides to advance and finish 1, 2. Michas was left to settle for third.

For the first time on Day Two, the breeze began to taper and rain clouds formed on the horizon while the breeze touched the 9-10kt range. Teams made a mad scramble to adjust their rigs in preparation for the next start. The bottom right side of the course finally showed signs of promise, but those who were able to get farthest left at the top were none other than the event leaders.

Going for a ‘picket fence’ scoreline, the elder Kilroy worked his way to the front and hung on again for his third bullet of the day, followed by Friedes and Michas finishing second and third respectively.

Heading into the last race of the day, rain squalls moved through with PRO Anderson Reggio determined to run another heat. The breeze was the lightest it had been all day and it looked like a toss up as to which side would pay as teams that got right early looked strong. Rob Wilber and his CINGHIALE team, however, snuck to the deep left, hooked into some nice breeze and managed to lead at the top mark.

On the ensuing run, the breeze built quickly and those that gybed early got punished. Freides showed solid patience extending to the corner, eventually hanging on for the win. Not far behind was Liam Kilroy and Jason Michas.

A pounding rain greeted the fleet on the way back to the dock, and if forecast predictions are correct for tomorrow, the race course will head back outside to finish the championship.

Event details – Results – Facebook

Day Two Results (6 races, 1 discard)
1. PACIFIC YANKEE, USA300, Drew Freides – [4] -1 -3 -2 -2 -1 ; 9
2. Samba Pa Ti, USA13131, John Kilroy – [5] -2 -1 -1 -1 -5 ; 10
3. WILDMAN, USA311, Liam Kilroy – 2 -[8] -2 -3 -6 -2 ; 15
4. Midnight Blue, USA228, Jason Michas – 3 -5 -4 -[7] -3 -3 ; 18
5. RUSSIAN BOGATYRS, RUS898, Vladimir Prosikhin – 1 -7 -[11] -6 -7 -6 ; 27
6. CINGHIALE, USA414, Rob Wilber – 8 -4 -7 -4 -4 -[9] ; 27
7. KUAI, USA7676, Daniel Thielman – 9 -3 -10 -[12] -5 -7 ; 34
8. Midnight Sun, USA305, Alexis Michas – 7 -6 -5 -8 -8 -[16] ; 34
9. OLEANDER, USA250, James Wilson – 6 -9 -6 -5 -[19] -10 ; 36
10. TALISMAN, USA306, John Bailey – [14] -10 -9 -14 -10 -8 ; 51
11. Flygfisk, USA225, Tom Kassberg – 10 -[16] -12 -9 -9 -14 ; 54
12. CRUZAN RHODE , ISV1315, Timothy Pitts – 12 -11 -8 -[13] -13 -11 ; 55
13. RUSSOTRANS, RUS265, Yurii Morozov – 13 -13 -13 -15 -[16] -4 ; 58
14. BOBSLED, USA280, Bob Moran – [16] -14 -14 -10 -11 -12 ; 61
15. Gimlet, JPN271, Tamotsu Aritomo – 11 -[15] -15 -11 -12 -15 ; 64
16. Dark Star, AUS308, John Bacon – 15 -12 -16 -[17] -15 -17 ; 75
17. TEMPUS, JPN224, Koji Matsumoto – 18 -18 -[19] -16 -14 -13 ; 79
18. KINETIC, USA227, Bob Hayward – 17 -17 -[19] -19 -19 -19 ; 91

Source: Melges 20 class, Scuttlebutt