Melges 32 World Championship at Sail Newport - Day 3
by International Melges 32 Class Association 2 Oct 2016 06:40 BST
29 September - 2 October 2016
As adverse weather continued, the Melges 32 fleet continued to blast around Narragansett Bay unphased and with two final races to go on Sunday, Ryan DeVos' Volpe leads overall, while Kiss' Hydra surges to take leadership of the Melges 32 Worlds Corinthian division.
While the nor'easter over Newport has done its best to deflate the fleet at the 2016 Melges 32 Worlds hosted by Sail Newport, the strong winds and persistent rains have only added to what has been a wild, wet and seriously exciting championship. Initial forecasts showed a lighter and drier day however, while en route to the racecourse, it didn't take long for sailors to discover that conditions might be the most adverse yet with a strong headwind and sideways rain.
With an eye on the prize and a solid night's rest behind him, Ryan DeVos and his Volpe team declared that their prior race wins were no fluke and claimed the bullet in the first race of the day (their third of the championship) followed by Richard Goransson's Inga from Sweden and Alessandro Rombelli's STIG.
On his secret of success thus far DeVos commented, "Despite the tough conditions, we have been having a good time on- and off-the-water. The racing has been full-on, very competitive and the breeze has been a lot of fun. We are looking forward to sailing hard in the last two races."
Finishing third in Race Seven, Rick Devos on Delta has successfully strung together as many third place finishes as his younger brother has bullets, solidifying himself in second overall. Italy's Andrea LaCorte and his Vitamina team won Race Seven, followed by Jason Carroll's Argo who went from ninth place rounding at the bottom gates to place second, which in turn, enabled him to remain on the podium overnight.
The final race of the day, Race Eight in a ten-part series presented big changes in angle and velocity on the racecourse providing for some tight first weather mark roundings. Goransson played the shifts nicely on the first upwind beat, however it was Ryan DeVos' Volpe who stayed hooked up and planing downwind to lead at the gates, ultimately hanging on for the race win. Goransson claimed another second place finish, while Rombelli came third.
Despite the seven point cushion, the event is still up for grabs with Ryan DeVos looking to defend his lead against his brother Rick and World Champion veterans on Argo. Not far off the podium is a pack of fast teams who will be looking to finish the final two races and move up in the standings.
All the marbles
For the Corinthian division, racing could not possibly be more tight and intense. With Day Three now in the record books, Morgan Kiss and the 'kids' on Hydra have leapfrogged Chris Wientjes' Stormvogel for the top position in the amatuer division. After sitting in fourth place in Race Seven, Wientjes was the victim of a tough call from the umpires for excessive pumping and had to spin losing his strong position. Only three points separate these two incredible teams, which means tomorrow's racing - Sunday, the final day of competition will be do or die, and for certain will put spectators on the edge of their seats.
For fleet newcomer and Corinthian entry Jeremy Alexis aboard Lucy, it has been a blessed baptism by fire. "We've experienced just about everything while racing, but we are still having great fun and super excited to be out here racing with this amazing group of competitors. This is like playing a game of pick-up basketball with Michael Jordan," said Alexis. "We've learned so much so far and look forward to carrying it forward into tomorrow's racing and future regattas."
Post race, the Worlds Regatta Tent at the Newport Shipyard was packed for the daily awards and the Stormvogel Pig Roast. The class cannot thank Chris Weintjes and his team enough for putting on a seriously tasty spread of post race food.
Results after Day 3: (top 5, 8 races)
1.) Ryan DeVos/Mark Mendelblatt, Volpe; 2-7-1-1-6-1-[9]-1 = 19pts
2.) Rick DeVos/Jonathan McKee, Delta; [9]-5-3-3-3-4-3-5 = 26pts
3.) Jason Carroll/Cameron Appleton, Argo Team; 1-[6]-5-5-4-6-2-8 = 29pts
4.) Alessandro Rombelli/Terry Hutchinson, STIG; 4-2-6-[7]-7-3-7-3 = 32pts
5.) Richard Goransson/Vasco Vascotto, Inga From Sweden; 3-[14/DNF]-7-9-2-2-8-2 = 33pts
Corinthian
1.) Morgan Kiss, Hydra = 69 pts
2.) Chris Wientjes, Stormvogel = 72 pts
3.) Jeremy Alexis, Lucy = 96 pts