Audi Melges 20 World Championship at San Francisco Yacht Club - Day 3
by Joy Dunigan 3 Oct 2015 08:16 BST
28 September - 3 October 2015
Wet and wild - San Francisco delivers
Three more races were added to the 2015 World Championship scoreboard with Kilroy still leading, things change on the Corinthian front
The second day of completed 2015 Audi Melges 20 World Championship racing in San Francisco boasted spectacular conditions with the daily MVP award being handed to 12-year old Liam Kilroy on Wildman. Two bullets, plus an eighth place finish in Race Six has him holding firm in second place, right behind his reigning World Champion dad - John Kilroy on Samba Pa Ti in first place. Guido Miani's Out of Reach cashed in big with a 10-2-4 daily performance, moving him up from seventh to third overall.
"We are learning by doing. We should have been here two weeks ago. It was marvelous here today, actually it's beautiful everyday here," said Miani. "I am falling in love with this place. It is an amazing place to sail. To sail in these conditions for us is a bit unusual though for us. The rest of our season was relatively light in comparison."
"What I find at the end of the day, is that the Melges 20 sails beautifully in many conditions., especially these. We are so much more confident and more people should be out sailing this class of boat. This boat is just so amazing. It is a dream come true."
In the Corinthian division, Russia's Oleg Evdokimenko aboard Kotyara had a great day advancing into the overall all-amateur division lead. Overnight leader Paul Currie from Canada on Wild Deuces is now in second, ahead of Jay Golison's Midlife Crisis steady remaining in third.
"Wow. It was great, what an incredible experience today was," says Corinthian competitor John Murphy, owner of Solas who is sailing with his kids. "This was the biggest wind we've ever sailed in together and it was so much fun."
Three additional races were held - the spice of sailboat racing is variety. From Race Four's light to moderate breeze with flood, to Race Five's moderate to heavy and flood to ebb, then Race Six's classic bay area, nuking conditions, it was a day filled with a little bit of everything for everyone.
By far, the final race of the day was the most exciting and eventful. For the start, eighteen knots set the pace with the top weathermark reporting gusts over twenty. The breeze oscillated 5-10 degrees continuously which made the beats and runs all the more challenging. Monaco's Corrado Agusta on Customly figured things out early rounding the weather mark in first ahead of Rhonda Joyce's Grinning Streak in second, and Cesar Gomes Neto on Portobello in third. Downwind, Joyce had a smile a mile wide as she and her team of Matt Woodsworth and fiance Mike Wolfs ripped downwind to round through the gate, holding their third place course position.
Back upwind, it was gnarly. Big waves and full-on breeze pounded the fleet, as the top six separated themselves to become the lead pack. Agusta remained strong, and Kilroy improved to round second. The final run though took its toll on Agusta, Gomes Neto and others as they wiped out on the jibe set to finish. This window of opportunity is exactly what Kilroy was looking for as he slipped into the lead and won. Agusta recovered to finish second. Joyce had her best finish to take third, followed by Miani in fourth and Gomes Neto finishing fifth.
"Today was better. We had a lot of fun. We were really happy with the conditions today," commented Agusta post-racing. "We had good boat speed and went upwind well. We are still practicing as this is our first season in the class. Gabrio (Zandona, tactician) made some really good calls today. We have a great team, a really great group."
The final run to the finish
Tomorrow's forecast calls for more breeze. Three races are to be held with cocktails at 18:30 and dinner at 1900.
Media coverage - tell your friends to join us online
As with other Audi Melges 20 events around the world, the latest racing updates will be posted online at the Official Audi Melges 20 Facebook Page. Be sure to also follow the fleet on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Tune in for the latest racing information, results, video interviews, and photos. Race reports, press releases and photos will also be available online each day post racing at melges20.com.
Sponsored up
The International Audi Melges 20 Class Association (IM20CA) is thrilled to welcome the following sponsors: Lagunitas Brewing, No. 3 London Dry Gin, Martin Ray Vineyards and Winery, Pusser's Rum and Santero. As always, the IM20CA is eternally grateful to the outstanding and excellence in product and sales support from Melges USA, Melges Europe, Melges Asia Pacific, Melges Russia and Melges Japan.
Results after Day 3: (top ten, 6 races, 1 discard)
1.) John Kilroy, Samba Pa Ti; 1-[6]-3-2-4-1 = 11pts
2.) Liam Kilroy, Wildman; [13]-1-6-1-1-8 = 17pts
3.) Guido Miani, Out of Reach; 2-[22]-5-10-2-4 = 23pts
4.) Cesar Gomes Neto, Portobello; 5-2-[16]-6-6-5 = 24pts
5.) Drew Freides, Pacific Yankee; [18]-8-1-5-3-10 = 27pts
6.) Jim Wilson, Oleander; 9-[25]-2-4-9-6 = 30pts
7.) Corrado Agusta, Customly; [40/DNF]-9-21-8-7-2 = 47pts
8.) Achille Onorato, Mascalzone Latino Jr.; 6-13-4-[24]18-9 = 50pts
9.) Michael Illbruck, Pinta; [16]-5-15-11-8-11 = 50pts
10.) Alessandro Rombelli, STIG; 10-3-8-[27]-11-21 = 53pts
Corinthian Results: (top three, 6 races, 1 discard)
1.) Oleg Evdokimenko, Kotyara = 100pts
2.) Paul Currie, Wild Deuces = 125pts
3.) Jay Golison, Midlife Crisis = 134pts