Melges 32 US National Championship all set to go in Newport
by International Melges 32 Class Association 18 Aug 2016 13:58 BST
19-21 August 2016
Melges 32 Newport Nationals day 3 © JOY / International Melges 32 Class Association
After a brief two-year hiatus, the Melges 32 Nationals are back in Newport, Rhode Island featuring several strong contenders for both the overall and Corinthian titles. Not only is the 2016 Melges 32 National Championship Trophy up for grabs, but this event signals the beginning of the march to the World Championship at this same venue taking place in just over a month on September 29 - October 2.
Melges 32 teams will be racing hard as usual, but will be also keep their cards close and look for any 'tells' on the other top performers for any edge leading up to the Worlds.
Racing on his home waters and current holder of the Melges 32 National Championship trophy, Jason Carroll and his Argo team are looking to etch their names yet again on the trophy making it an impressive four consecutive times. Maintaining top form is never easy and Carroll will have a strong challenge from Richard Goransson's Inga From Sweden who has performed very well over in Europe winning the Sailing Series, and Ryan DeVos' Volpe had a heated battle with him to claim the final event of the 2015/16 Blue Water Series and the overall title.
Andrea LaCorte's Vitamina and Rick DeVos' Delta have talented teams led by tacticians Gabrielle Benussi and Ed Baird respectively. Ed Tillinghast and his Dark N Stormy team have been stockpiling talented sailors, working very hard in Newport this summer and will look to put it all together for a solid event this weekend.
In the Corinthian racing division, a battle is looming between the current Corinthian National Champions on Hydra and Melges 32 veterans on Chris Wientjes' Stormvogel who have made a shift to the amateur classification. Wientjes has amassed a group of solid amateurs that have plenty of Melges 32 experience, whether or not it will be enough to shake the form of the kids led by the steady hand of Morgan Kiss remains to be seen. But, it will be the biggest challenge that Hydra has seen thus far for a Corinthian title.
The Melges 32 Nationals are based out of the comfy confines of the Newport Shipyard and the fleet is comfortably nestled between gigantic J Class Boats and other famous racing yachts. The RC team is led by newly minted father Anderson Reggio and his fearless team of Sail Newport volunteers. With a moderate to breezy forecast for the weekend, the action begins on Friday, 19 August and continues through Sunday.
Event website: www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=1592