Melges 24 Worlds - Final Overall Roundup
Posted on Wednesday, November 04 @ 05:47:13 CST by Editors
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The Sheehy Lexus 2009 Melges 24 World Championship, hosted by the Eastport Yacht
Club, attracted
fifty-one entries from across Europe and the US, with teams from the USA,
Canada, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, Britain, the Netherlands, Norway
and Ukraine congregating in Annapolis to challenge for one of yacht racing's
most sought after world titles.
The two-day Pre-Worlds Regatta served to confirm the potency
of the visiting contingent, with all three podium places occupied by visiting
teams. The reigning World and European Champions from Italy, 'UKA UKA Racing'
steered by Lorenzo Bressani, cemented their position as the pundits' favourite,
with victory ahead of Italian America's Cup helmsman and 2001 Melges 24 World
Champion, Flavio Favini on the Swiss registered 'Blu Moon' in second and 2006
World Champion Nico Celon from Italy on 'Fantastica' in third. The potential of
the visiting teams at this regatta was equally matched by a raft of high
profile US helms, each capable of producing a winning performance: US sailing
legend Terry Hutchinson on 'Quantum Racing' came into this event as the current
Melges 24 North American Champion, a title he won last year in Annapolis; Brian
Porter on 'Full Throttle', the 2009 US National Champion had 2002 World
Champion Harry Melges calling the shots; Bill Hardesty sailing with tactician
Vince Brun aboard 'Event's Clothing/Atlantis', had a remarkable four Melges 24
World Title victories between them and serial one-design Champion Chris Larson sailing
'West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes'
would bring an invaluable wealth of local knowledge to this event.
The fourteen-boat entry in Corinthian Division (no
professionals allowed) at this year's Melges 24 World Championship always
looked likely to produce a fierce battle for the top spot and when racing
commenced the Corinthian competition more than lived up to expectations, with
the overall lead closely fought and changing on a daily basis. The top
Corinthian helms in Annapolis also made regular appearances at the front of the
main fleet, with front runners Bruce Ayres aboard 'Monsoon' finishing fourth in
the Pre-Worlds, reigning North American Corinthian Champion Othmar Mueller von
Blumencron on 'Gannet', Henry Filter aboard 'Wild Child' from the host Eastport
Yacht Club, David Dabney on Conejo Racing - Ocean Sailing Academy' and
Germany's Christof Wieland on 'Unsponsored', all securing top ten race
positions during the week. In fact it was the Corinthian Division that produced
the more nail biting series climax, with Ayres and von Blumencron going
into the final race tied on equal points. With these two unsurprisingly locked
together in mortal combat for the whole of the race eleven decider, the final
Corinthian result was only actually confirmed when a delighted Ayres surfed
across the line, just a few boat lengths ahead of von Blumencron.
In the main eleven-race Championship series, it was
Annapolis resident Chris Larson who eventually overcame the strength of the
European squad, to claim the 2009 Melges 24 World Title with a race to spare.
Whilst Larson sailed a consummately confident and ruthlessly consistent series,
he was pushed almost all the way throughout the week by both the double
European Championship winning 'Joe Fly' steered by Italian 470 Olympian Gabrio
Zandona as well as Norway's Eivind Melleby at the helm of 'Full Medal Jacket'.
Whilst not including a race win, Larson's impressive series scoreline meant
that he took a seventeen-point lead into the final day. Despite appearing to
already have at least one hand on the trophy, with the potential for three
races to be sailed, he was still very much vulnerable to attack and would need
to call on all his professional sailing experience to avoid a spectacular
tumble from grace. In the end it was really all over before it began. Showing
no outward signs of nervousness, in the first race of the day Larson calmly
picked his way out of the mêlée at the heavily favoured pin end, before going
on to record his fourth second place of the week. Meanwhile, Zandona, Bressani
and Hutchinson all put themselves effectively out of contention by each attracting
twenty percent Z-flag penalties and when the Race Officer announced that there
would be no third race, a delighted Larson found himself in an unassailable
position. With no reason to compete in the second and final race of the day, he
and his delighted crew: Mike Wolfs, Curtis Florence and tactician Richard
Clarke, could head ashore to begin to celebrate their 2009 Melges 24 World
Championship victory.
Larson's departure left Zandona and Melleby to battle it out
for second place and in 12-14 knots, just about the windiest conditions of the entire
series, Melleby put his rival under real pressure with a confident second place
performance in the last race. In contrast, Zandona had left himself a lot to do
to hang on to his second overall with a first windward mark rounding in the low
teens and had to use all of his legendary Italian guile to eventually pull back
to sixth on the final run. Now tied on points with the Norwegian, Zandona was
relieved to receive confirmation that the count back mathematics had worked in his
favour and edged him into second overall. Meanwhile, an ecstatic Melleby was
content to celebrate becoming the first ever Norwegian to claim a Melges 24
World Championship podium position. Two race wins apiece during this
Championship for each Nico Celon and Flavio Favini, secured them fourth and
fifth overall respectively, but must have surely left both helms ruing their
damaging double-digit scores earlier in the week, which had ruled them out of a
challenge for the overall victory.
Justin Chisholm
IMCA Event Press Officer
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