Dynamiq Melges 20 Winter Series at Yacht Club de Monaco Act 2 - Preview

Act 2 of the Dynamiq Yachts Melges 20 Monaco Winter Series will be held at the Yacht Club de Monaco on November 11-13. There are 21 teams registered and 14 of them are sailing under the Russian flag.

The season started in the beginning of October and 8 races were held in Act 1. Alexander Ezhkov's PIRogovo won 6 out of 8 races and secured victory in the regatta. Alexander Novoselov's Victor and Vladimir Prozikhin's Nika started the Winter Season with 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Pavel Grachev had a very successful debut. Marina Kaverzina's Marussia, a Corinthian team, stood out by winning one of the races.

On the other hand, Maxim Titarenko's and Vadim Yakhinson's Leviathan started their season not as well as expected.

At the end of the summer season, after the Melges 20 World Championship, Maxim shared his thoughts about the team and the whole mood of the competition. "We are just trying to enjoy what we are doing. Though I think that anyone, who says 'the result is not the main thing', is being slightly dishonest. The final ranking is the result of skill and excellence. However, enjoying the process is more important, I think. We are doing exactly that, 'catching' joy in what we do! At the World Championship we had the unforgettable experience of racing with a fleet of 60 boats. We also experienced the so-called sport mood, a kind of mood one can only get at a World or Europe Championship. You know what they say 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' - I truly believe it.

"We were practising for the whole year before the World Championship; we wanted to see what we are capable of. Due to the disqualification in one of the races and some tactical mistakes we did not reach our expected results. But we realized that our starts are great, our manoeuvrers are confident and we can keep up a good pace. The difference between us one year ago and our team now is like black and white, and we are extremely happy about it."

At the beginning of 2016/2017 season, team Leviathan had some planned radical changes in their crew: the replacement of the helm. This team is clearly not afraid of difficulties!

"After the 2016 World Championship I handed over the helmsman post to Vadim Yakhinson", said Max Titarenko, "Now I am the bowman. Obviously it's a huge step back for me and a challenge. We also have tackled the weight problem so we got a fourth crew member, Evgeniya Mikhetseva. And the most important thing is that we now have a new boat. Apparently, this winter season Leviathan has everything new: helm, bow, new crew member and new boat! At the first regatta we achieved quite good positions: two 3rd and one 2nd positions. And we are just getting started!"

We wish Leviathan luck with their self-made challenge. We also wish for team PIRogovo not to slow down, and may their rivals have good fortune chasing the leader!

The official partner of the Series is Dynamiq Yachts.

More information can be found here.