Melges24 WM 2009

Bericht vom Freitag, 31. Oktober 2009

Der Mond ist aufgegangen: ...und zwar der "Blu Moon"... - Crew des Tages war eindeuting die für die Schweiz startende "Blu Moon" von Franco Rossini, die am Freitag beide Läufe gewinnen konnte.

Es war wiederum sehr schwachwinding - an der Grenze des Segelbaren, hinzu kommt die starke Strömung auf der Chesapeake Bay, die das Segeln dort extrem schwierig macht.

In der Gesamtwertung festigt allerding Chris Larson seine Führung, der erneut 2 Topresultate gesegelt ist.

Im Amateurranking festigt der Führende seine Position ebenfalls - "unser Christoph" (Wieland) hat am Freitag keinen ganz so tollen Tag erwischt und ist in dieser Wertung auf den 4. Platz abgerutscht - allerdings punktgleich mit dem 3., aber schon 10 Punkte hinter dem Zweiten - ein Platz "auf dem Stockerl" ist also noch drin!

Zu den vollständigen Ergebnislsiten: L I N K

Es sind nun 9 der 12 ausgeschriebenen Läufe gesegelt - mehr wie 2 Rennen werden am Samstag wohl nicht drin sein.

Im Auge behalten, denn es bleibt spannend!!

Provisional Overall Top Ten After Six Races

1. Chris Larson - West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes - 32 points
2. Gabrio Zandona - Joe Fly - 47 points
3. Lorenzo Bressani - Uka Uka Racing - 52 points
4. Terry Hutchinson - Quantum Racing/Gill Race Team - 58 points
5. Nicola Celon - Fantastica - 65 points
6. Eivind Melleby - Full Medal Jacket - 66 points
7. Flavio Favini - Blu Moon - 75 points
8. Alan Field - WTF - 80 points
9. Brian Porter - Full Throttle - 92 points
10. Carlo Fracassoli - Gullisara - 94 points

Provisional Corinthian Top Five After Six Races

1. Bruce Ayres - Monsoon - 21 points
2. Othmar Mueller von Blumencron - Gannet - 25 points
3. David Dabney = Conejo Racing-Ocean Sailing Academy - 35 points
4. Christof Wieland - Unsponsored - 35 points
5. Henry Filter - Wild Child - 39 points

Offizieller Bericht der IMCA:

Two Bullets For Favini But Larson Tightens Grip On
The Sheehy Lexus of Annapolis Melges 24 World Championship


Annapolis, MD, USA - 30 October 2009 - After yet another light and fickle day on the water, the fifty-one boat international fleet competing at the Sheehy Lexus of Annapolis 2009 Melges 24 World Championship, now appear resigned to racing in sub seven knot breezes. With day five of the regatta seeing maximum pressure of no more than six knots, the Race Committee certainly had to have their wits about them to get two races off as soon as the opportunities presented themselves.

So far this regatta, 2001 Melges 24 World Champion Flavio Favini aboard the Swiss registered 'Blu Moon', had produced an uncharacteristically lacklustre performance, but today Favini spectacularly returned to more familiar form; winning both of the day's races in some style. Whilst still handicapped by a trio of double-digit scores earlier in the week, today's sparkling performance leapfrogs the 'Blu Moon' crew from up eleventh to seventh overall tonight.

Going into day five, overnight leader Chris Larson on 'West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes', held a tenuous six-point lead over Norway's Eivind Melleby on 'Full Metal Jacket'. Topping the leaderboard at a major regatta such as this one produces its own special kind of mental pressure, but the experienced Larson certainly showed no signs of stage fright in the first race of the day, turning in a confident performance to take second place behind Favini and extending his winning margin at that stage to sixteen points. With second placed Melleby faltering with a sixteenth, an eighth for Gabrio Zandona on 'Joe Fly' was good enough to move the Italian team back up to second overall but only with a four point margin over Melleby.

In the second race of the day Andrew Wills on 'Cracker Racing' held on to his first mark lead until the end of the second beat when he finally succumbed to sustained pressure from both Favini and Lorenzo Bressani on 'Uka Uka Racing'. On the final run Favini comfortably saw off Bressani's advances and ghosted across the finish line to take his second victory of the day by a margin of several boat lengths. After a difficult start to the regatta reigning World Champion Bressani now sits in third overall and mathematically at least still within striking distance of retaining the title he won last year in Porto Cervo.

Zandona and Larson finished in quick succession in seventh and eighth place respectively in the final race, so the American skipper takes a fifteen-point advantage over his Italian rival into the last day of the Championship. Terry Hutchinson's solid 5,3, scores today move him up to fourth overall, with a seven point gap back to 2006 Melges 24 World Champion Nico Celon in fifth.

The overall order in the Corinthian Division looks a little more established at the end of day five, with 'Monsoon' helm Bruce Ayres's pair of Corinthian bullets giving him a four point delta over Othmar Mueller von Blumencron on 'Gannet'. A four and a three for David Dabney on 'Conejo Racing - Ocean Sailing Academy' leaves him tied on points with Germany's Christof Wieland on 'Unsponsored'. Dabney is in third place by virtue of the count back with Wieland in fourth overall, four points ahead of Henry Filter on 'Wild Child'.

The fervent collective hope amongst everyone here in Annapolis is that tomorrow's much-heralded forecast of winds in the mid-teens comes to fruition for the final day of racing. With the Race Committee keen to try to complete their series by getting three races in before the 14.30 cut-off, the prospect of the World Title being decided in the last race of the regatta is a tantalisingly real one.

Full results are available from the Event Website. The championship runs until Saturday 31 October with a total of 12 races scheduled. You can follow the racing live on the IMCA Official Blog. For further information or to request photographs or video footage please contact fiona.brown@melges24.com.

GT / 31.10.09