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Melges 24 News - 2001/2002 Sail Information || M24 News || M24 Tuning Guide ||M24 FAQs || Contact M24 Experts || Order
PRESS RELEASE 17 NOVEMBER 2002 BRIAN PORTER (USA-549 "FULL THROTTLE") WINS 2002 KING'S DAY REGATTA The third and final race of the King's Day Regatta in Jacksonville, Florida gave way to extreme sailing conditions bringing challenging and very interesting results. As the boats made their way to the racecourse they experienced almost flat conditions, winds around 10-12 knots. The wind built quick increasing to 15-18 knots at the start. Everyone got off clean, most working the left side of the course with quite a bit of scrambling for position. Working their way to the top mark, rounding first was Doug Fisher with Morgan Reeser navigating (USA-62 "Iocane"), Nigel Pill and Alex Shaffer (USA-544 "Tommy Bahama") was second and overall leader Brian Porter (USA-549, "Full Throttle") came around third hot for the top position. As the fleet made it's way down the course winds continued to build
and sustained at 20-25 knots making for interesting jibes, mark rounding
and take downs. Porter, who had closed the gap significantly between
himself Back downwind for the second to last leg the wind was really whipping.
Porter left the fleet giving him a substantial lead to win the race.
It took him 5 minutes and 45 seconds to come from the top mark to the Due to increasing winds, the teams started to struggle a bit to keep
the boats under control. The race committee became witness to several
"shrimping" incidents and in some cases even worse. The J-24
fleet was The Full Throttle crew scored 3 bullets this weekend unmistakably making
them the overall winners in Jacksonville. Argyle Campbell captured second
place. Some of yesterday's contenders did not survive so well
Kim Beddard made an announcement to the Melges 24 fleet that the Florida
Yacht Club is the home Sterling Trophy. She briefed the crowd on the
history of the trophy and how it came about. The Sterling Trophy is Last but certainly not least, kudos to the FYC! In particular to Rick Preston, the designated On-water Chairman did a fine job with all races conducted. They were professional and well organized. The FYC's top-notch committee and facilities really made the King's Day Regatta one of the best to attend in the Southeast.
01.) BRIAN PORTER - USA-549 - FULL THROTTLE 02.) ARGLYE CAMPBELL - USA-524 - ROCK 'N ROLL 03.) SHELDON ECHLUND - USA-553 04.) PAUL ZUBRZYCKI - USA-495 - FIRST CRUSH 05.) DOUG FISHER - USA-62 - IOCANE 06.) JEFFERY TODD - USA-58 - HOT TODDY 07.) WAYNE PIGNOLET - USA-174 - PUMBAA 08.) JEFF JONES - USA-497 - KILROY 09.) ROSS GRIFFITH - USA-155 - MOVING TARGET 10.) NIGEL PILL / ALEX SHAFFER -USA-544- TOMMY BAHAMA
"FINALLY" HARRY MELGES (USA 409 "STAR") IS 2002 MELGES 24 WORLD CHAMPION After five consecutive trys (crewed three times, and driven twice)
Harry Melges at the helm for Jeff Ecklund captured the top spot today
overall to become the 2002 Melges 24 World Champion in Travemunde, Germany.
Even though Harry scored a 9th place finish and took a DNS on the last
race as his discard, Harry maintained the top position. When asked to
comment on how it feels to have finally won a Melges 24 Championship
he said, "Awesome. I had a great crew and just sat in back and
drove the boat. Both Jeff and I would like to send a very special thank
you to Kristian Nergaard from Norway who really went above and beyond
the call of duty Race nine began with light wind and rain. With so much excitement and adrenaline pumping a general recall on the first race was unavoidable. Once the teams settled down for second start, the rain continued to fall but by no means put a damper on anyone's determination. Around the first mark were the Italians Andrea Racchelli (ITA 438 "Altea") and M. Ziliani driving for A. Preti (ITA 193 "Ale Ali 3"). Racchelli was unable to hold on to the top spot for long. The french had an astounding day with a first place finish from Philippe Legros (FRA 193 "Cotes D'Armor") followed by Francois Le Bourdais (FRA 375 "Voiles Performance") in second. Vittorio Strosek has a most incredible day with a third place finish. Second place position holder Jamie Lea at the helm for Richard Thompson (GBR 437 "Black Seal") finished with a dissappointing fifteenth. At the start of the tenth and final race in the series, Andrea Racchelli
(ITA 438 "Altea") put on a masterful display of his determination
and ability by dominating the entire race. He and Kenneth Thelen (FIN
236 Final Results
2002 Melges 24 World Championship
Report by Harry Melges Seventy two Melges 24's turned up in Travemunde Germany for the 2002 Melges 24 World Championship. Travemunde turned out to be a great venue for this awesome event. Beautiful weather and great breeze blessed the regatta for the opening weekend and the first four days of racing, while Friday brought a taste of real Germany with clouds and rain showers, but still plenty of wind. Fireworks, rock bands, bungee jumping, farice wheels, and plenty of sausage and beer gave us all a taste of Germany in the summer time, and it was a real blast! The first four days of racing in Travemunde brought sunny skies, and thermal breezes that built each day until Thursday into the 18 knot range. The Lubecker bay area is somewhat shallow so the waves built up quickly to make for some challenging conditions upwind and some awesome rides downwind. Friday brought in the rain showers and a 180 degree change in the wind and the weather. This helped mix up the standings a bit on the last day, but one thing remained constant, customers using North Sails steadily rose to the top of the fleet. North Sails dominate the racing winning 7 out of 10 races, taking first overall, first Corinthian, and 8 out of the top 10 spots including the top three. Tuning notes from the winners: We set up the first day at base on our shrouds and ½" of sag in the mast, the wind was approximately 8 knots and the water was flat. Jib leads in the standard position, with the car screwed into the hole just in front of the third bolt. Traveler was always to windward 4" to 6" and the jib and main trimmed so the leech telltales were always flowing. As the wind and waves increased, we really didn't change our set up that much. We tried a tighter rig, but it never felt as good as being at base, even when the breeze was in the 18 knot range. In the bigger chop, we would twist the sails a lot more than in flat water. The big thing in the chop was to make sure that you kept your boat moving through the water, that was the only way to get height. On the bumpier tack, we tried the jib lead forward one hole and this seamed to be real fast in the lighter conditions. We also would snug the vang to keep the mast from working in the waves and this was very fast. This set up required some fine tuning of the backstay to achieve the correct depth in the top of the mainsail and still maintain headstay tension and twist in the main without making the top of the main too flat. Bottom line was that the North main and Jib continue to be the easiest sails to trim and go fast with. You can basically sail at base almost 80% of the time and be fast.
That's pretty much it, a great time had by all, with lot's of good racing! Sail Fast! Harry Melges
Report by Harry Melges
Once again, North Sails continue to dominate the Melges 24 circuit showing awesome speed both upwind and downwind in a variety of conditions. The 40 degree temperatures were a bit colder than we all expected for Annapolis in April, but with the sun shining, the wind blowing and everyone dressed in their warmest gear 9 races were sailed in 8 to 20 knts with flat water and the occasional snow flurry. A bit of current and some very shifty westerly winds put an emphasis on tactics and staying in phase with the breeze. It paid to not get too hung out on one side or the other, as the shifts were short enough that just going with the flow and tacking on the shifts upwind and downwind paid off. We sailed with a standard North J5 jib, North Mainsail, North Max Runner and the North Power Zone Reacher. We sailed at base or within 12 turns up from base the entire weekend. Many of the boats were sailing with their rigs tighter in what appeared to be the conditions that would require the tighter rig. I believe the flat water and the versatility of the North sails allowed us to sail close to base all the time and not be concerned about the rig. As we learned in Key West, over baking the rig is not always a good thing to do. The ability to concentrate on tactics was crucial and not over think the rig. We set our jib leads aft one hole, that is screwing the car into the third bolt head. Pulled all the wrinkles out of the luff of the jib, sailed with the main traveler centered in the big breeze trimmed the main hard and the backstay hard, and we were flying upwind. It was important to crack the jib sheet out a bit when the really big shots came to keep the boat rolling, as well as feather the boat in the flat water and let the front of the jib collapse a bit to keep her on her feet and not overheeled. Downwind, we used primarily the North Max Runner. We did this because of the flat water, and the shots were narrow so it was important to be able to sail deep with speed. We kept our weight aft and the boat powered up just enough to stay on a plane, and then worked hard to stay in the big shots. With the current against us on the runs, it was also important to sail deep as the current seams to sweep you to the sides of the course too quickly if you are pressed up against the current. The Max Runner allows you to sail deep and still plane, and it once again showed that it is the sail to have. Click here for full results. If you have any questions, please feel free to email or call the North Melges 24 experts! Sail Fast!
Report by Harry Melges
Flavio Favini and Owner Franco Rossini sailed their brand new Melges 24 to an impressive victory. Flavio used a brand new North main and North J5 jib to win an unprecedented 5 straight races. Flavio, Franco and team showed breakaway speed upwind, stating that they simply followed the North tuning guide, and then concentrated on the big picture of the race at hand. This is a true testament to the ease of use of the North sails and the awesome speed that can be achieved simply by following the tuning guide. I had the privilege of steering Jeff Ecklund's new boat called Star. We ended up second overall and re learned some old lessons in the process. If anything, we over thought the rig tuning and with the chop that we had in Key West, it paid to stay on the loose side. Flavio sailed with a looser rig than most of us and it was definitely fast in the chop. It looked windier than it was and the tendency was to tighten the rig up to the heavy air setting in the morning races. Flavio stayed in the 8 to 12 turns up on the uppers range while many of us were in the 20 turns up range. You wouldn't think this would make much of a difference, but in an 80 boat fleet every inch matters, and a click of speed made the difference off the starting line and up the first beat. Bottom line is, the rig is important, but if you are close to base in most conditions except really breezy conditions you will be fast. We generally sailed with the traveler up to windward, sometimes at the windward foot push, and a looser than normal main sheet tension due to all the chop. It was critical for the crew to be gauging boat speed with other boats so that if we were off the pace we could make adjustments right away. This usually happened on one tack more than the other as you hit the waves more squarely. Less backstay and a soft mainsheet tension was really fast as soon as we hit the big chop. North's own Vince Brun, two time M24 World Champion was a solid third, winning a race and showing brilliant form throughout the regatta. Vince had solid boat speed upwind and downwind using the standard gear and was consistently at the top of the fleet showing us all why he has won so many World Championships in so many different classes. Richard Thompson and Jamie Lee started off the regatta with a winning day and sailed a solid event to finish in Fourth just ahead of Brian Porter who coming off his second place finish at the Worlds in La Rochelle finished fifth The standard North main and the North J5 jib continue to be the sails of choice for the top sailors. They are the easiest to trim and they are the fastest through the entire wind range. This year we stepped up the cloth selection on both the mains and the jibs to improve their shape holding capability and add longevity to their racing life. In Key West we used our new North Power Zone Reacher in the heavier wind races and showed brilliant speed downwind. This sail is powerful to get you over the waves, but it is also open in the leech and does not have as much luff curve so when you need to press up and plane, the Power Zone Reacher gets you in the power zone more quickly. The boat feels free and it is really fast. The power zone is the zone where the boat is powered up and planing freely, not bound up or over heeled. This sail also showed great speed in the very light air and chop during the practice races before the Worlds. To max out our inventory we also used the North Max Runner. This sail we used to call the VMG, but we have renamed this sail because it is the best all purpose runner on the market today. This sail will cover the entire wind range if you want it to. It sails deeper and faster than any other sail out there and if you need to reach a little, it will do that too. Key West was a great time had by all. The key to success still comes down to boat handling and boat preparation. We all owe a big thank you to Philippe Kahn for running all those practice races before the Worlds. That was invaluable training for all of us and I would say all of the top ten boats and probably top twenty took part in those practice races. If you want to improve you have to sail the boat in as many races as you can and when you do have time to practice, throw in a couple of buoys and "hot lap". Even if you are the only boat, it is the best way to train. If you have any questions please feel free to email or call. We are more than happy to help you out. Sail Fast!
2001 Worlds - Photo Gallery
Photos courtesy Fiona Brown
Flavio Favini/Franco Rossini 2001 World Champions with North.
Besides bringing a lot of sunblock for the warm and sunny skies it was important to bring North Sails as 56 out of the 76 boats had North Sails and at the end of the regatta North Sails were on 13 of the top 15 boats. At the end of week, Italian Flavio Favini, sailing Swiss sailor's Franco Rossini's new boat won the event with a incredible 5 first place finishes out of the 8 races sailed. North One Design's Vince Brun, who finished third overall after winning the first two Worlds, asked Flavio how he set up his boat and got ready for the regatta. "About the tuning , as I had little time to practice before the regatta, and as I had never used North sails before on the Melges, I set the rig as the tuning guide suggested, rake and base shroud tension. Then we went sailing the days before the regatta and we immediately found we had a good speed in the light stuff. As our boat was brand new, every practice day we came back to the dock we checked our rig tension and we found out that it had streched a little bit and therefore we had been sailing with less shroud tension that we thought. The performance was good and we decided to use, in the choppy conditions of Key West, a little less rig tension to allow a little more forestay sag than what is suggested by the guide. I am talking of a couple of turns less, and I don't even know if this is enough to make any difference, but for sure the tuning was good.
We had our best performance when the breeze picked upthe second day, but again we just followed the guide, we tightened 12 turns the uppers and 6-8 the lowers, and just sailed the boat the best we could. About the maisail trim, I let the traveller in the middle, not too much vang tension, and played the backstay to respond to the puffs. For the jib, we trimmed to the reference mark at the spreader, or sometimes a little more outboard, adjusting the jib sheet quite frequently to react to puffs and lulls. I must add that I think that a lot of the good speed we had in the breeze is thanks to the great job that my crew did, hiking down the boat upwind and moving and trimming the spinnaker properly downwind." Many thanks to all our customers who chose to use North Sails. North Sails is proud to support such a vibrant and growing class. We look forward to seeing everyone at the 2002 Worlds later this year in Travemunde, Germany Top 15 and sails are:
North Sails Support World Championship as Associate Sponsors The International Melges 24 Class Association and Premiere Racing Inc are delighted to announce that North Sails will be supporting the 2001 Melges 24 World Championship, to be held in association with Terra Nova Trading/Yachting Key West Race Week from 20-25 January 2002, as an Associate Sponsor. North Sails is one of the longest standing commercial sponsors of the International Melges 24 Class, both in Europe and the USA and the IMCA is delighted to welcome them on board again this year. Their support will help ensure the success of the Championship which is set to break all attendance records for a US based Melges 24 event. North Sails continue to lead the way in Melges 24 sail development and this World Championship will see the return of double World Champion, Vince Brun to the event. Vince is really looking forward to the Worlds and can be seen training in San Diego most weekends in preparation. Quote from Nigel Young North Sails UK: Why North Sails is supporting the worlds....... " North Sails both in Europe and the USA have
been closely involved in the class since its introduction. Vince Brun
has led the way in the States and I have been looking after the class
in Europe. The Melges 24 is the best sports boat class in the World
and we enjoy the challenge of making sails for such a thoroughbred boat.
With both the USA and UK lofts producing For further information about the 2001 Melges 24 World Championship please visit www.melges24.com or contact Fiona Brown, IMCA Press Officer, 3 Palmers Road, Emsworth, Hants, PO10 7DL, England, Tel +44 (0)7711 718470, E-mail FionaBrown@compuserve.com. For further information about North Melges 24 sails
please visit www.northsailsod.com
for USA clients or www.northsails.co.uk
for European clients.
Report by Eric Hood
DAY 3 - Another great
day for our last day of sailing in this year's Hawaii State Melges 24
Championship. No rain, 15-22 knot trade winds and very shifty in Kaneohe
Bay. Three races were scheduled this last day with any team still able
to win. Race 4 was a W-3, race 5 & 6 were W-2s. Today we were joined
by some Solings, J24s and Cal 20s who started after us.
North Sails Finish 1,2,3,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13
Conditions varied from 8 to 16 knots and consistency did pay at the end.
For more information on Melges 24 sails, contact the North Melges 24 experts. |
North
Sails dominate the 2002 North American Championship winning 6 out of
9 races and the overall title.
Seventy
Eight Melges 24's gathered in the waters off Key West for the 2001 World
Championship. Competitors from around Europe and North America came
to enjoy the beautiful weather, great racing and plenty of stiff competition.
The fleet was filled with World, Continental and National Champions
from many different classes.
The
2001 edition of the Melges 24 World Championships were held this year
in conjunction with 2002 Key West Race Week, North America's premiere
winter regatta. 76 competitors from around the world gathered in the
southernmost point in the continental USA to decide who would be the
2001 World Champion. The regatta was postoned after the events of September
11th.
I
know I am not telling anything special, because I am sure that probably
most of the fleet did the same, but my attitude, expecially when I don't
have much time for practicing, is to rely to the standard tuning guide,
don't think too much to the fine tunings, and just sail the boat, concentrate
to the basics, and don't use too much time with tape measurer and tension
gauge.
1. Franco Rossini/Flavio Favini 23 (North Main and Jib)
8. Vincent
Jaricot 56 -- Star Voiles
We
are racing with Philippe Kahn's Team Pegasus here on the island of Oahu
this week. This will be the first state championship for the Melges
24s. While a small fleet it will be very competitive. The 24s race in
two spots on the island of Oahu. The first being out of Waikiki Yacht
Club on the south side of the island just east of Pearl Harbor and just
west of Diamond Head at Waikiki Beach. The other spot which we are racing
at this week is up on the east side of the island on Kaneohe Bay. This
spot is a protected harbor from the Pacific Ocean and sails much like
any inland lake on the mainland. The big islands , mountains , hills
and other features really effect the wind and makes for very challenging
sailing. The beauty is unbelievable. The cleanest air and water you
will find anywhere in the world.
Philippe,
Ty Pryne and I started a discussion on what it would be like to have
a 10 boat charter fleet out here in Hawaii. The possibilities for chartering
to sailors from all around the world seems like it would be there. Having
a Melges 24 Advanced Sailing School could also be part of the charter
company. Having special corporate regattas could also be part of the
charter company. We are going to explore the possibilities. Any thoughts
from any Melges 24 sailors would be appreciated, please send those thoughts
to me at 
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