2025 M32 Miami Winter Series Event 4 - One final battle in the Miami heat
by M32 World 7 Apr 01:24 BST
4-6 April 2025
4 events. 11 teams. 16 drivers. 42 races. 1 hell of a season. The 2025 M32 Miami Winter Series wrapped today. Ryan McKillen's Surge won the final event, while young Charlie Julien's Rated X took the winter series Rooster Trophy.
Surge Strikes again: MWS Event 4 Victory
With a hat trick of consecutive victories, Ryan McKillen's Surge is starting 2025 on fire. They missed the first event, which put them out of season trophy contention early. But when they arrived, they came swinging. A picket fence on their first day of the season, followed by three straight event wins.
Don't let the leaderboard fool you—this fleet made them fight for every inch. Saturday alone saw five different winners. And five different last-place finishes. You couldn't script it better.
Convexity brought a new face to the helm, Louisa Nordstrom. Meanwhile, world champ Jake Julien played super-sub: helming Dingbat Friday and Youngblood Saturday.
It all came down to one final race. Surge vs. Young Blood. Winner takes the regatta. "First race today, we gave 'em a bunch of points," said McKillen. "Then we just chipped away throughout the day. It came back to a bit of a match race."
"They started to leeward of us and took a shot on the first reach, but we were clear," he continued. "On the run, they jumped us on the jibe, and it was a race to see who could get going again. I was to leeward, took a little crack, had a piece of 'em—and we got the call."
Surge outmaneuvered Young Blood, forced a wipeout, drew a penalty, and never looked back. Cold. Calculated. Clutch. That sealed the hat trick: three events, three wins. Clean sweep.
"It's been four years of learning," said McKillen. "We've sailed with the same guys here for a while, and so I think it's really starting to click. It's slowing down for me, making a bit more sense, and it's good to finally have some results."
Three days of 20-knot breeze, 80 degrees, and Miami sun. PRO Mattias Dahlström put it best: "Here's a notepad. Write down your dream conditions...That's what we got." Or, as one sailor joked on the dock: "Who put their Amex down to pay for this weather?"
Rated X Rules the Roost
One name. Three boats. A full sweep of the Miami Winter Series podium. The Julien family is building an M32 dynasty, this time with Charlie Julien in charge.
The Rooster Trophy goes to the team that showed up every time and stayed steady at the front of the pack. Charlie's Rated X entered the weekend as favorites. Youngblood and Dingbat started climbing, but not enough to dethrone the youngest of the family.
Rated X is no stranger to the front of the fleet. Charlie Julien's team sailed with moments of brilliance all season, including a win in the Miami opener. Decked out in black and pink, the reigning world champion team includes tactician Keith Swinton, Rhys Mara, Jeff McCooey, Julius Hallström, Scott Ewing, and Alan Johnson; this season, it was Charlie Julien at the helm instead of his older brother Jake. At just 14 years old, Charlie Julien is brand new to the M32 and faced a learning curve, but the teenage talent climbed quickly.
"So I came from the Opti and basically just jumped straight into the M32. It's a massive shift. I basically had to relearn how to walk and just do everything back from scratch. With the help of my team, it was a good transition," said Julien. And tomorrow? "No plans for tomorrow. Just back to school. Back to life. To the norm."
After four events, it's Charlie with gold, Bobby silver, and Miles bronze. Another family squad, Ava and Don Wilson on Convexity, finished just one point off the podium.
Off the water? Cuban dinners. Birthday cakes. Frozen margaritas. Southern BBQ. The kind of season where your crew gear gets beer stains. And champagne sprays if you're lucky.
Eyes on the Horizon
With Miami in the rearview, the fleet heads north. Newport is next: Thursday night racing, the Midtown Cup, North Americans, and plenty of local distance races.
In Europe, action picks up in Aarhus, Kristinehamn (don't miss the Picasso Cup in supplied boats), and Lake Garda. And everything builds toward the 2025 M32 World Championship, back in Miami this November. www.m32world.com/calendar.
Full results available here.