Shaka holds lead at Melges 24 US Nationals

Fairhope, Alabama (May 25, 2019) – An initial on-shore postponement kicked-off the second day of racing at the 2019 Melges 24 US National Championship as the intense heat produced more light air, keeping K.C. Shannon and tactician Jackson Benvenutti on Shaka in the lead for a second consecutive day.

Florida’s Alex Shafer at the helm of Vixen had it figured out for today’s one and only race. “We blinded the competition with our ultra-bright rock star shirts,” said Marty Kullman, Vixen tactician very jokingly. “It was super light. We did not have a great start, but we managed to stay clear, and get ahead.”

“It was a good day,” said Alex Shaffer. “It was tough racing for everyone. It was key that we got clear and had good boat speed.”

Steve Suddath’s 3 ½ Men continues to lead the all-amateur division, sitting eighth overall.

Tomorrow is scheduled to be the final day of competition, and teams are hoping to get in at least one more race for the discard to kick in.

Racing is planned for May 24 to 26.

Event details – Results – Photos

Day Two Results (Top 10 of 35; 5 races)
1. Shaka, KC Shannon , USA – 2 -7 -4 -3 -6 ; 22
2. Warcanoe, Michael Goldfarb , USA – 1 -17 -1 -5 -2 ; 26
3. Monsoon, Bruce Ayres , USA – 8 -5 -3 -7 -3 ; 26
4. Zingara, Richard Reid , CAN – 10 -8 -2 -11 -4 ; 35
5. Lucky Dog / Gill Race Team, Travis Weisleder , USA – 6 -2 -6 -20 -7 ; 41
6. Mikey, Kevin Welch / Jeff Madrigali , USA – 16 -12 -5 -2 -8 ; 43
7. Full Throttle, Brian Porter , USA – 21 -4 -14 -1 -5 ; 45
8. 3 1/2 men, Steve Suddath , USA – 9 -9 -9 -12 -9 ; 48
9. VIXEN, Alex Shafer , USA – 28 -3 -7 -16 -1 ; 55
10. Slingshot, Wes Whitmyer Jr , USA – 11 -10 -20 -8 -17 ; 66