Bruce Ayres wins Melges 24 Pre-Worlds

The 2018 Melges 24 Canadian Championship was held June 2-3 in Victoria, British Columbia. The 42 boat fleet enjoyed 5 races off the beautiful Victoria waterfront with 8-12 knots of breeze, variable currents, a stunning mountain backdrop, and everything from sunshine to rain.

The event proved to be a great lead-up to the 2018 Melges 24 World Championships to be held at the same venue on June 5-9.

Visiting US boats Monsoon (851) helmed by Bruce Ayres and WTF (829) helmed by Alan Field were first and second, with Richard Reid in Zingara (853) third overall and top Canadian boat.

Locals Full Circle (415), Light Scout (222), and Sunnyvale (151) led the way at the beginning of the event, and took three of the top five positions after the first day. However, Canadian boat Zingara (853) from Toronto dominated Day 2 with two firsts, and consistency paid for Monsoon and WTF to put them in the top 2 spots overall for the event, and only a point apart.

Nearby Seattle boat War Canoe (825) helmed by Michael Goldfarb was close behind by only a point in 4th, and Anacortes boat Mikey (835) with a mixed US/Canadian team of owner Kevin Welch with well-known Canadians Jason Rhodes and Ross MacDonald in 5th.

Local Canadians rounded out the next five spots with Full Circle (415 – Bob Britten) in 6th, followed by Sunnyvale (151 – Fraser McMillan), Mikey (838 – Richard Clarke), Light Scout (222 – Kirk Palmer), and Hold My Beer (591 – Michael Bond) rounding out the top 10.

It was great to see young local teams right in the mix, including Sunnyvale (Fraser MicMillan) in 7th, Grey Matter (John Owen) in 19th, and Gravy (Dylan Jones) in 24th out of 41 boats – all graduates of Royal Victoria Yacht Club’s Junior Racing Program.

Final Results (Top 5 or 42; 5 races, 1 discard)
1. USA, Bruce Ayres, Mike Buckley, Jeff Reynolds, George Peet, Chelsea Simms, (13)-1-6-5-3; 15
2. USA, Alan Field, Erik Shampain, Willem Van Waay, Steve Hunt, Lucas Calabrese, (23)-6-3-2-5; 16
3. CAN, Richard Reid, Scott Nixon, Mike Wolfs, Billy Gooderham, 11-9-1-(14)-1; 22
4. USA, Michael Goldfarb, David Brink, Jonathan Goldsberry, Morten Henriksen, Salvador Sanchaez, 14-3-2-4-(DNS-43); 23
5. CAN, Kevin Welch/Jason Rhodes, Ian Sloan, Ross MacDonald, Serene Village, 9-(24)-5-3-9; 26

Event details – Results – Photos – Facebook

Source: Tara Smith