DETROIT, September 19, 2007 - With just days remaining until the largest
Melges 24 U.S. Nationals in history, competitors, race organizers and top
teams are hard at work preparing for the 2007 Audi Melges 24 U.S. National
Championship. More than 30 boats already sit in rows at Detroit's Bayview
Yacht Club, awaiting their starting guns.
Although many of the 55 competing teams plan to arrive later in the week,
some of the top teams were already preparing their boats for battle on
Monday afternoon. 1999 College Sailor of the Year Mark Ivey, sailing with
David Ford's two-boat Lightwave team, spent hours precisely measuring and
tuning masts in Bayview's breezy staging area. "I've always been something
of a seat-of-the-pants sailor, but working with Pegasus [Racing Team] really
ingrained the science of sailing into me. Our goal is to know exactly what
we're working with down to the millimeter, so that we can repeat our
settings over a wide range and eliminate any guesswork." With a team that
includes two-time World Champion Brian Hutchinson, Lightwave is an early
favorite to dethrone reigning National Champion Scott Holmgren's Rosebud.
DETROIT, September 14, 2007 – In just over a week, some sixty Melges 24 skippers and crews will hit the waters of Lake St. Clair to decide who will be crowned the Audi 2007 Melges 24 U.S. National Champion. With 56 entries received to date, and up to 8 more expected, this will be the largest U.S. Nationals in the 14 year history of the class – confirming the health of this ultra-competitive, high-octane One Design class.
U.S. Melges 24 Class President Scott Gregory and his Georgia-based Team Satisfaction were initially unable to make it to Bayview Yacht Club for the championship, but when the entry list hit 40 boats, they cleared their schedules. “We just couldn’t miss an event like this up in Detroit,” Scott said. “Those guys really get it – there are so many good sailors in the Detroit fleet, and they are the most enthusiastic group in the country. They sail hard, they party hard, and they’re always helping others improve. We can’t wait to get out there and mix it up.”
Gregory and his team will have plenty of company. Melges 24 events consistently draw some of the world’s best sailors, and this one is no exception. World Champion Dave Ullman, helming for Scott Holmgren on Rosebud, is clearly the favorite – but his challengers include some of the best in the business. Ullman’s biggest obstacle is likely to be current North American Champion Brian Porter and his Full Throttle team. Porter enlisted the help of two close friends from Lake Geneva to see if he can dethrone the legendary Ullman; Melges Performance Sailboats President Harry Melges III and VP Andy Burdick – both World Champs in the Melges 24. Full Throttle was only seconds away from becoming the World Champion in Santa Cruz this past May when, on the final leg of the final race, a brutal gust of wind knocked her on her side, mast in the water. Ullman’s crew immediately dropped their spinnaker, giving them the control they needed to pass the disabled Porter and win the championship.
Alex Jackson (New York, NY), sailing Amelia, won the first U.S. National Championship of the Swan 42 Class hosted by the New York Yacht Club in Newport, RI, September 14-16. In second is Mustang, co-skippered by Gary Jobson, Norwood Davis and Whitey Lipscomb, and third is Tiburon, Mark Watson.
Jackson and his team sailed consistently over the first six races with two firsts and a second to build a strong lead, and while they struggled in the shifty conditions in the final race, their 2-8-5-11-1-1-15 finishes gave them a four-point victory.
Commented Jackson, "In general the fleet was very close." He noted that up to the last race five or six yachts could have won. "We certainly didn't win by much. The good races we had compensated for the bad ones."
The wind was light to moderate from the south on Friday, but blustery on Saturday, as a cold front whipped up Narragansett Bay. Jackson reported winds of over 30 knots on one downwind leg. Sunday it was a northerly breeze that lost its way throughout the day.
With a second- and a fifth-place finish Mustang had the best results on the final day and climbed into second place overall. Mark Watson (San Antonio, TX), sailing Tiburon, seemed to have won the regatta after winning the seventh race, but a disqualification in race six dropped him to third overall.
Said Mustang's Gary Jobson, "With seven races sailed, the fact that 13 of the 18 competitors placed in at least one of the races is exactly what we wanted for this class."
The Swan 42 Class, which is just one year old, is a new one-design class commissioned by the New York Yacht Club in collaboration with Nautor's Swan. This is an owner-driver class with limits on both professional sailors and sail inventory. Eighteen boats, many of them competing in their first event including Colin Buffin's Uxorious III from Great Britain, participated in the championship. By year's end, the Swan 42 class will have 38 boats competing in 11 countries.
New York, NY 10 Sept. 2007 -- The Supreme Court of the State of New York today ruled that it would hear argument on October 22 on the validity of the challenge that has produced the proposed protocol for the next America's Cup.
"We are very pleased with this decision, as we are keen to see this issue properly resolved with a minimum of further delay," Tom Ehman, Head of External Affairs for GGYC's team, BMW ORACLE Racing, said.
"During the hearing, the court suggested that the parties engage in mediation to resolve all disputes. This is a course that we continue to support," Ehman said.
"Our strong preference remains to negotiate a solution. If this is not possible, today's decision provides for swift resolution through the courts."
He said the team strongly favors an America's Cup regatta like the last one sailing in monohulls, and had supported seeking a quick legal resolution so that all participants could know the outcome of the case as soon as possible.
The San Francisco club alleges that the current America's Cup Defender, Society Nautique de Geneve (SNG), is in breach of its duty under the Deed of Gift that governs the Cup. It says SNG has accepted a challenge from an invalid contender, and is seeking to impose an unprecedented one-sided set of rules that unfairly advantage the defender to the detriment of all other competitors.
Ehman said that on October 22 the court would hear argument as to the merits of the case and that a judgment could be expected shortly thereafter.