Melges 24 World Championship 2025 at Yacht Club Adriaco - Day 3
by International Melges 24 Class Association 25 Sep 20:02 BST
20-27 September 2025
Race Day Three - Melges 24 World Championship 2025, Trieste, Italy © YCA / Giovanni Tesei
The 2025 Melges 24 World Championship, organized by Yacht Club Adriaco in collaboration with the International Melges 24 Class Association and with the support of the Italian Melges 24 Class, continues in something of a slow-motion rhythm.
Following forecasts that predicted a sailable window opening mid-afternoon, the Race Committee, chaired by Giancarlo Crevatin, called the fleet onto the racecourse later than scheduled. What followed was an extremely tactical race, eventually shortened at the second windward mark.
Gamecock, owned by Peter McClennen with Jeremy Wilmot as tactician (last year's World Champion in San Francisco), led from start to finish to claim the win. The result lifted their overall standing considerably. Paolo Brescia's Melgina, with Stefano Cherin calling tactics, finished second, just ahead of Taki IV of Giacomo Fossati, with Niccolo Bertola at the helm, the best of the Corinthians. Overall, USA 841 Gamecock now sits fourth with 17 points, just one point behind Cuyler Morris's Dark Horse, which continues to show consistency at the top, and only two points behind the pair of Sentinel (Geoff Fargo, fourth today) and Strambapapà (Michele Paoletti and Giovanna Micol, both local experts and former Olympians).
"We're used to racing in strong breezes with a heavier team, and we worked hard to arrive in Trieste with a configuration that would give us pace in the lighter conditions too. The Pre-Worlds were raced in heavy winds, so today was the first time we could test our choice - and judging by our performance, we can say we got it right," explained Jeremy Wilmot, tactician aboard Gamecock.
"The start was very tight, but once we were off the line, we accelerated well and stayed close to Gamecock up to the first windward mark. On the downwind leg, the Americans broke away after some bold decisions, while we focused on covering those behind and securing second place - which, in this context, is pure gold," commented Stefano Cherin, tactician on Melgina.
Among the Corinthians, victory went to an undaunted Taki IV, rebounding after yesterday's dismasting caused by a broken backstay, which had cost them two races and any shot at the top of the standings. The proud response of Giacomo Fossati's crew, already four-time Corinthian world champions, was immediate: they finished third overall in today's race.
"Today's result is deeply satisfying, not only because finishing third in a Worlds race is always an achievement, but also because it came after such a tough day yesterday. We can now enjoy the best part of this situation: with our current standings, we can race without pressure and follow our own creativity," said helmsman Nicolò Bertola.
"We did a great job of resetting and putting the disappointment aside. It certainly helps that we've always stayed together as a team and have seen just about everything happen over our many years in this wonderful class," added tactician Giacomo Fossati.
Mataran 24 (CRO 649, Ante Botica) continues to lead the all-amateur fleet after a consistent performance, followed by Zhik Race Team (GBR 694, Geoff Carveth), who are keeping the pressure on. The local heroes of Vertigo (ITA 730, Antonio Masoli) round out the Top 3, rewarding the home crowd with strong racing in the Gulf of Trieste.
Racing at the 2025 Melges 24 World Championship will continue tomorrow. PRO Giancarlo Crevatin is aiming for four races, though the minimum target is two, enough to activate the discard and make the championship valid.
The event will conclude on Saturday with the awards ceremony at the Yacht Club Adriaco clubhouse, attended by President Nicolò de Manzini and Italian Sailing Federation President Francesco Ettorre. The ceremony will be moderated by Mauro Melandri, Communications Manager of the International Melges 24 Class Association. Among the trophies to be awarded, the most coveted are the Melges Performance Sailboats Trophy for the overall champion, the Henri Samuel Corinthian World Trophy for the best amateur team, the Zarko Draganic Trophy for the best rookie owner, and the brand-new Zerogradinord Next Gen Trophy, awarded to the best Under-25 team.
Due to the unfavourable wind conditions, racing at the 2025 Melges 24 World Championship will continue very early tomorrow with a first warning signal scheduled for 8:20 am.
Racing can be followed live: streaming coverage is available on the social media channels of Yacht Club Adriaco and the International Melges 24 Class Association, with commentary by journalist Andrea Falcon and technical input from Mauro Melandri. Meta Sail live tracking will also be available.
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The 2025 Melges 24 World Championship, organized by Yacht Club Adriaco in collaboration with the International Melges 24 Class Association and the Italian Melges 24 Class, is made possible thanks to the support of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Municipality of Trieste, Zaccanti, Richardson, Urban Hotel Design, Sirio Outfitting, Ocean Marine, Eataly, Gill, Cantina Produttori Cormons, Saiph, Impact Sportbusiness, and RAI.
Melges 24 World Championship 2025 Results after Day 3: (top ten, 3 races)
1 USA 856 - SENTINEL - Geoff Fargo - 1-10-4 = 15 pts
2 ITA 689 - STRAMBAPAPÀ - Michele Paoletti - 5-5-5 = 15 pts
3 USA 870 - DARK HORSE - Cuyler Morris - 3-3-10 = 16 pts
4 USA 841 - GAMECOCK - Peter McClennen - 8-8-1 = 17 pts
5 MON 860 - NIKA - Vladimir Prosikhin - 2-2-15 = 19 pts
6 ITA 854 - MELGINA - Paolo Brescia - 9-11-2 = 22 pts
7 CRO 649 - MATARAN 24 - Ante Botica (Corinthian) - 4-6-13 = 23 pts
8 GBR 694 - ZHIK RACE TEAM - Geoff Carveth (Corinthian) - 7-13-6 = 26 pts
9 HUN 794 - STRANGE BREW - Ian Ainslie - 11-18-11 = 40 pts
10 GER 673 - NEFELI - Peter David Karrié - 6-4-37 = 47 pts
Full results available here.