#melges24 – Today we lost the Melges 24 World Championships writes Irish skipper Conor Clarke. We were in third and were adamant about going for the win rather than defending our podium place. We prayed for wind today when it seemed like it might not happen. With 15 minutes to go before the 3pm time limit the race organisers got us off up the course. We felt sluggish on Embarr, usually we are able to poke out ahead of the fleet at the start with better boat speed and while we did beat some of those close to us we were not leading the pack up the course.
This meant we had to contend with some traffic and find lanes. We were forced away from our favoured side by Australians and hit by the Brits at the top mark both of which meant punishment for us in terms of boats passing. We clawed back and had a really good last downwind leg to get us back to the top 10. Again, we were hit right on the finish line by an American boat and this time had to protest to get back the points we lost.
We finished fifth. It is a good result and we are mixing with an exceptional standard of sailors in this Melges 24 fleet. However, it seems poor reward for the effort over the last 3 years we have been together as a team and to tell the truth we are all gutted.
Thank you for reading these rants and please keep an eye out for us...
Embarr
Event reporting below
Sperry Top-Sider Melges 24 World Championship
San Francisco, CA, USA: American Brian Porter on Full Throttle took fourth in the final race of the Sperry Top-Sider Melges 24 World Championship 2013 today to finally lay claim to the title he has been trying to win for many years.
Porter snatched victory by three points from 2013 Melges 24 European Champion Italian Flavio Favini at the helm of Franco Rossini's Swiss entry Blu Moon who had led by a single point going into the final day.
Favini didn't give in without a fight however, recovering from a fifteenth place first windward mark rounding to pull back to sixth at the finish - just two places away from snatching back overall victory.
A second place in today's race for Denmark's Kim Christensen on Soffe 2 elevated him from fourth overnight on to the podium into third place.
A win in the final race for American Bora Gulari on West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes - his second of the championship - moved him up one overall place to fourth. A tenth today for Nathan Wilmot on Conor Clarke's Irish entry Embarr dropped him from third to fifth overall.
In the Corinthian Division a seventh for American Don Jesberg on Viva was good enough to see him crowned 2013 Melges 24 Corinthian Champion by three points from second placed fellow American Loren Colahan on Lounge Act. A Corinthian race win today for Canadian Michael Bond on Recidivist earned him the final podium place.
Overall top ten after nine races:
1. Brian Porter, USA, 39 points
2. Flavio Favini, SUI, 41
3. Kim Christensen, DEN, 47
4. Bora Gulari, USA, 48
5. Nathan Wilmot, IRL, 53
6. Giovanni Pizzatti, ITA, 53
7. Riccardo Simoneschi, ITA, 54
8. Terry Hutchinson, USA, 56
9. Harry Melges III, USA, 75
10. Andrea Racchelli, ITA, 83
Full results (PDF): melges24worlds2013.files.wordpress.com
