Prof O'Connell Reports from the Final Day of the Melges US Nationals

Level on points, tied for first place, we headed into the final race of the US Nationals on Conor Clarke's "Embarr" knowing that we had to beat the overnight leader Bora Gulari on "New England Ropes / Air Force One" to win the regatta - or else keep him outside the top seven.

Well it was not to be. After a nail-biting, hence at at times frustrating race in very light air, they beat us on the line by one length and won the regatta by one point. We can have no complaints, we did not sail well enough today to win and that was that. We let them off the hook in the pre-start, gave up an opportunity to pass him on the first run and despite some brilliant upwind sailing where we passed them on the second beat and fought back from a poor start, we just didn't get there in the end.

The Irish at full tilt in Embarr. Photo: Becky Furry

A positive note was that we beat Brian Porter and Andy Burdick on "Full Throttle" who had beaten us in the Worlds in May. Brian and his team, are tough competitors and have won many many events in this class.

Embarr's has finished 3rd overall in the World Championships and 2nd in the US Nationals this year. Not a bad haul!

Hopefully we can go one better in January at Key West Race Week - "Embarr's" next event.

Thanks for all the messages of support folks.

Prof O'Connell, the spinnkaer trimmer on Ireland's Melges 24, reports from Day 2 of the US Nationals

When I was 15 I read about "The Wizard of Zenda" - aka Buddy Melges, who won a bonze medal is the Flying Dutchman class in 1964 and an Olympic gold medal in the 1972 Olympics in Kiel. Buddy was from a tiny town called Zenda in Wisconsin and honed his skills in the local club on Lake Geneva.

This years Melges 24 US Nationals Championships is being hosted by Lake Geneva Yacht Club (see pic), only five miles away from Zenda. Imagine how we felt when, after a good day on the water today, this 81 year old man walked straight up to us and congratulated us and introduced himself. "Hi guys, I'm Buddy Melges, great job today, well done".

So that finished off quite a good day!

Shona and Dave Wilmott with skipper Conor Clarke of Dun Laoghaire (centre)

On the water, it was a "snakes and ladders" three race light day after four medium air races yesterday. Conditions were much lighter and we had our fair share of "snakes" but hung on when things were looking grim and scored 3rd, 2nd and 3rd in the three races. Lake sailing often favours the corners and today was no different. If you "went up the middle", you were toast. Throw the textbook out and take your chances.

In an interview with Sailing Anarchy today, one of our competitors called our helm, Olympic gold medallist Nathan Wilmot the "Tiger Woods of Melges Sailing". Nathan, and most especially our bow girl Shona Wilmot (Nathan's wife in the picture!) is not too happy with the nickname. Nathan better show some of those Tiger-like qualities tomorrow because we are tied on points for first overall and we need to put this regatta away!

Results after seven races are on http://documents.clubexpress.com/documents.ashx?key=riB8hNmq7Wx3kB2Z%2bI4BkWBGJuBfAjcNyaxcUKiip7S6g7Bw3877mA%3d%3d

You can see that we are now tied on points with former Rolex US Sailor Of The Year Bora Gulari. His worst score is 7th, our is 6th. Hence whoever beats the other tomorrow wins the event, unless Bora finishes outside the top seven, in which case we win.

The "Melges Rocks" party is tonight in the local diner "Gordy's" - a local eatery - we may have to spike Bora's drinks tonight. Fingers crossed!

After five days of training on Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, Ireland's single Melges 24 team finally kicked off the Melges 24 US Nationals aboard Conor Clarke's "Embarr".

Representing Dun Laoghaire, the team aboard - Nathan Wilmot (helm), David Hughes (tactician) Conor Clarke (pit), Shona Wilmot (bow) and Prof O'Connell (spi trim) were itching to get going having being third overall at the world championships last May.

Here Prof gives his first instalment from Wisconsin.

It was typical lake racing - very very shifty with big variations in windspeed across very short stretches of water. "Hero to Zero" and occasionally "Zero to Hero" experiences were many!

Racing is very very tight, plenty of individual recalls, a few general recalls, a few "Z" flags, crowded top marks and some collisions too. The legs were only one mile long so boathandling was key - as well as raw speed.

We took a 4th and a 3rd in the first two races and were a little disappointed. We lost at least one boat in each of those races quite close to the finish where we missed two gusts - not clever but that's how close it was out there.

Race 3 wasn't looking too flash for us either after doing a 360 degree penalty turn after the start for fouling a starboard tacker when we tried a very narrow cross on port whilst wriggling out of the start. However, we turned on the afterburners on that race thereafter and managed to win it after leading at the first mark. What a comeback!

Race 4 - we were relieved (if not happy!) to finish 6th, having been outside the top ten at one point following a dodgy kite set. We had a problem with the bowsprit extender line at the first spinnaker set and the five seconds it took to fix, cost us 10 places.

So, we are 2nd overall, two points behind the leader former US Yachtsman Of The Year Bora Gulari racing "Air Force One" with Nathan's brother Jeremy aboard calling tactics.

We expect to have three races tomorrow under the stewardship of PRO Hank Stuart whose team did a great job today.

Live mark rounding positions and results are being carried on www.sailingupdates.com <http://www.sailingupdates.com> .

More tmow folks - heading for a rest now after a long day on the water!

Ireland Win Bronze at Melges Worlds (photos, video and overall results below)

After three weeks of sailing and tough competition only two races stood between Ireland and the podium yesterday. But after 10 hard races the Irish/Australian Melges 24 crew sailing 'Embarr' knew it was going to take a big effort to get in the medals. They were fourth overall and eight points adrift of the podium. But they had finished third overall in the pre-world champs the previous week and led the worlds at one stage this week so they knew they could do it. And they did. Here's Spi-Trimmer Maurice O'Connell's Blog from Corpus Christi Bay, Texas written just before last night's prizegiving!

"Going into today we knew that only a superhuman performance today would give us a chance of making the podium. We were eight points adrift of 3rd overall with 2nd overall another two ahead of that.

Our bodies were tired, battered and bruised after 10 hard fought races so far and we knew that we had to dig in hard for the final two.

Race 11: We won the leeward end of the start again and rounded the top mark 2nd after former World Champions "Blu Moon" from Switzerland. We chased them hard and split from them at the gate. At the next top mark after all four of us vomited going upwind from the strain on the stomach muscles from hiking (not for the first time in the regatta) we just rounded in first place, half a length ahead of "Full Throttle". We blasted down the run and held them off to take our first win of the event and edged closer to the podium.

Race 12: We were two points off third overall and only another big performance would do it. We had a great start, this time at the weather end, but just quite couldn't get to the favoured side of the beat quick enough and we rounded the top mark 8th. Jaysus, we make it hard for ourselves! Once again a massive physical efforts and some skilled tactical calls from Nathan and David put us in a great position coming into the finish, one big wave and a huge ease on the kite sheet got us across the lien in third place, giving us the bronze medal by one point!

Heading off to the prizegiving now - thanks for all the messages of support folks!

The five man crew led by Dublin skipper Conor Clarke finished last week's pre-world fixture in third overall,  have spent nearly three weeks at the venue, a week training and optimising the Irish boat, Embar before two weeks of competition.

Happy crew: Pic (L-R) Maeve, Prof O'connell, Conor, David and Nathan

The Irish bronze medal crew are: Bow: Maeve Judge, Howth YC (they needed a sub 50kg person to make up the weight limit and Maeve is a triathlete and top dinghy crew so she fitted the bill perfectly) Pit & Owner: Conor Clarke, Royal Irish YC and Royal Jamaica YC. Spi trim: Maurice O'Connell, RSGYC and RCYC. Jib trim/tactician: David Hughes, San Diego (a top US pro sailor / coach) and Helm: Nathan Wilmot (the 470 Gold Medallist and triple 470 World Champion)

Video action from the series, great shots of Ireland's Embarr

Conor Clarke was a stalwart of  the 1720 class in Dublin for years for years and still owns the 1720 "Wow" which he keeps on
Lake Garda. Conor works for Digical in Jamaica, hence Royal Jamaica YC entry.

Top Ten Overall

1. ITA817 - Uka Uka Racing - Lorenzo Bressani - 6,2,1,2,1,1,1,1,1,5,3,(33/DNS) - 24
2. USA749 - Full Throttle - Brian Porter - (16),9,2,1,7,4,6,4,4,4,2,4 - 47
3. IRL607 - Embarr - Nathan Wilmot - 2,5,5,11,9,2,8,3,5,(26),1,3 - 54
4. BER655 - hedgehog - Alec Cutler 9,8,3,7,4,5,4,2,(11),1,7,5 - 55
5. USA812 - Brick House 812 - Kristen Lane - 8,1,10,3,3,7,5,7,(14),7,6,1 - 58
6. SUI596 - Blu Moon - Flavio Favini - 3,6,8,5,5,3,10,(11),8,3,4,7 - 62
7. ITA819 - AUDI - Riccardo Simoneschi - 7,(12),4,9,12,10,2,12,3,8,5,6 - 78
8. USA811 - WTF - Alan Field - 1,11,11,8,2,9,9,(14),13,6,12,10 - 92
9. ITA735 - Altea - Andrea Rachelli - 4,7,7,4,10,13,7,(15),10,12,9,9 - 92
10. USA820 - New England Ropes/West Marine - Bora Gulari - 15,10,12,6,8,(18),11,6,2,2,10,13 - 95

Our recent Melges 24 coverage is here

Conor Clarke's Irish entry Embarr is fifth overall on 34 points but only two points off second place overall at the Melges World Sailing Championships in Corpus Christi Bay, Texas. Pics, video below.

Yesterday was another another breezy but a little more overcast day. "It's extraordinary to be racining in shorts deck shoes, rash vests and buoyancy in such fresh breeze but the water and air temperatures are seriously hot, according to Spi trimmer, Prof O'Connell.

Ireland's Embarr gets a great start

 The Irish crew had a tough day yesterday against some professional sailing teams.

"Uka Uka Racing", steered by 470 Olympian Lorenzo Bressani with gold medallist Jonathan McKee calling tactics now has an almost unassailable lead on the event, having scored two bullets again today and has nine points.

Brian Porter steering "Full Throttle" with tactician Andy Burdick from Melges Yachts is second on 33 points.

Alec Cutler steering the 2009 World Champion boat "Hedgehog", with Olympic silver medallist Mike Wolfs aboard is third on 33 points.

Kristen Lane, with assistance from gold medallist Charlie McKee on "Brick House 812" in fourth on 34 points.

Clarke is  fifth on 34 points - two points off second place.

'Our day today, upon reflection could have been a lot worse', says Prof O'Connell, 'we could have had two DNF's' He takes up the story here:

'The stainless steel lower gudgeon which holds our rudder to the back of the boat shattered with an enormous BANG today whilst doing 15 knots down the first run.  Thus we had a diminishing amount of control over the boat as the race went on and we fought hard to nurse the boat around the course. In order to tack, he had to sheet the main on hard to help the boat turn and then a massive physical effort from the team to keep the boat flat upwind and downwind was needed. Gybes were also risky and we lost three boats on the last gybe into the finish to get 8th place in that race.

Using some vectran and spectra lines, we lashed the rudder to the transom gudgeon after the race and got ready for race 8. We nailed the start out of the port end, minimised the tacks and gybes and battled around the course to nab a 3rd on the line. Our competitors thought that we had discovered this fabulous "low mode" downwind but the fact was that we couldn't "heat up" as much as the other boats downwind for fear of breaking the rudder.

Our 8,3 scoreline for the day leaves us STILL within a point of second overall. We so could be sitting pretty in a comfortable second overall now but that's' "if's buts and maybe's" isn't it!"

Top Five Overall
1. Uka Uka Racing - Lorenzo Bressani, ITA, 9 points
2. Full Throttle - Brian Porter, USA, 33
3. hedgehog - Alec Cutler, BER, 33
4. Brick House 812 - Kristen Lane, USA, 34
5. Embarr - Nathan Wilmot, IRL, 34

Top Five Corinthian
1. Esprit - Eiichiro Hamazaki, JPN, 7
2. Unsponsored - Christof Wieland, GER, 18
3. Rosebud - Scott Holmgren, USA, 24
4. High Voltage - August Hernandez, USA, 27
5. Funtech Racing - Charlie Hess, USA, 34
Racing runs through until Saturday 21 May.

Ireland's Melges 24 'Embarr' crew skippered by Conor Clarke stay in fiftth overall after three days racing at the Melges World Championships in Texas. Conditions yesterday were much fresher than the first day and the Irish crew are finding physical fitness is a key requirementas the conditions breezed up over the last two days. Photos and results at the bottom of this post.

The ability to out hike and out "grunt" the competition can give you those vital metres needed at marks.

Ireland's sole entry continues to have excellent boatspeed both up and downwind but the tiniest mistakes at the corners can cost many many boats and the Irish crew admit they are still a bit 'rough round the edges'.

Ireland's Embarr crew on their way to second in race six yesterday on Corpus Christi Bay

Helmed by Olympic Gold medalist Nathan Wilmot Ireland's Embarr fought a close race all around the course in race six with defending world champions "Uka Uka Racing" but had to settle for second at the finish.

The others onboard the Irish boat are Bow: Maeve Judge, Howth YC (they needed a sub 50kg person to make up the weight limit and Maeve is a triathlete and top dinghy crew so she fitted the bill perfectly) Pit & Owner: Conor Clarke, Royal Irish YC and Royal Jamaica YC. Spi trim: Maurice O'Connell, RSGYC and RCYC. Jib trim/tactician: David Hughes, San Diego (a top US pro sailor / coach) and Helm: Nathan Wilmot (the 470 Gold Medallist and triple 470 World Champion)

Conor Clarke was a stalwart of  the 1720 class in Dublin for years for years and still owns the 1720 "Wow" which he keeps in
Lake Garda. Conor works for Digical in Jamaica, hence Royal Jamaica YC entry.

Embarr is now fifth overall (equal points to 4th) but it's all incredibly tight with the points gap being tiny - they are a single point behind second overall.

"Uka Uka", even at this half way stage are "looking rosy" to defend their title but there's still 50% of the 12 race programme to complete.

The Irish crew are giving it all they've got though. Even after two tough races they practiced some more manoeuvres on the way into the harbour yesterday and are looking forward to another blast on Corpus Christi Bay today where the wind, it appears just never stops blowing!

Ireland's Embarr helmed by the Olympic Gold Medallist Nathan Wilmot has lost the lead after the seond day of racing at the Melges 24 World Sailing Championships at Corpus Christie, Texas.  The Irish boat skippered by Dubliner Conor Clarke stays in the top five however after scoring a 5 and 11 in yesterday's two further rounds in the highly competitive 103-boat fleet. Scroll down for Rick Tomlinson's great event photos.

Day two  delivered two spectacular races sailed in near perfect conditions, under crystal clear skies and in a solid breeze which built from 15 up to around 19 knots throughout the day. Lorenzo Bressani on ITA 817 Uka Uka Racing, and Brian Porter on USA 749 Full Throttle, traded blows at the front of the fleet in both races, with Bressani winning ahead of Porter in Race 3 and then Porter holding off Bressani to take the win in Race 4. Bressani's near perfect performance today means that he tops the leaderboard tonight with an 11 point lead over Kristen Lane on USA 812 Brick House 812, whose 10, 3, scoreline sees her in second overall, tied on points with Flavio Favini on SUI 596 Blu Moon in third, and Andrea Racchelli on ITA 735 Altea. Yesterday's overnight leader Nathan Wilmot on IRL 607 Embarr could only manage a fifth and an eleventh today, dropping him down to fifth overall.

Reveling in the windier conditions on Day 2, Brian Porter on USA 749 Full Throttle and Lorenzo Bressani on ITA 817 Uka Uka Racing, spent both of today's races engaged in their own private battle at the front of the fleet. Bressani led the first race of the day from start to finish, with Porter chasing hard throughout in second. In the second race of the day, it was Porter who led at the windward mark ahead of Bressani who arrived at the buoy on port tack, just a couple of boat lengths behind. With no gap to tack into, Bressani was forced to duck behind two boats before then rounding in fourth. By the leeward gate, a charging Bressani was up to second and clearly focused on closing Porter down even further. As the leading pair blasted down the final run, Bressani had reduced Porter's lead to just a few lengths, and the Italian appeared to be gaining with every gust. In the last few feet to the finish, Porter, coming in at pace from the right, just managed to pull off a gybe in front Bressani, who was hurtling in from the left. With Bressani arriving at full speed on the layline to the finish, Porter was just able to complete his gybe in time enough to surf home, only a few feet ahead.

Despite finishing tenth in the first of today's races, Kristen Lane at the helm of USA 812 Brick House 812, proved that her race win on the opening day was no flash in the pan, when in the second race of the day she clawed her way back from a poor windward mark rounding to ultimately take third. Rounding the final windward mark in seventh place, Lane showed blistering pace down the last leg to move within striking distance of the pack of boats all scrapping for third. Nailing the port layline into the finish with absolute precision, Lane came in very hot from the left to snatch third place, after just managing to thread herself between the pin end line boat and the fast approaching bowsprits of Andrea Racchelli on ITA 735 Altea, Flavio Favini on SUI 596 Blu Moon and Bora Gulari on USA 820 New England Ropes/West Marine. Lane's gutsy maneuver has earned her second place in the overall standings at the end of Day 2.

It is a testimony to the extremely close nature of the racing at this championship that second placed Lane is in a three way tie on points with both Favini and Racchelli, who are in third and fourth places respectively. Indeed just six points separate second from seventh overall. A fifth and an eleventh today for yesterday's regatta leader Nathan Wilmot on IRL 607 Embarr sees him drop to fifth place overall, with a four point advantage over Alec Cutler on BER 655 hedgehog in sixth. After a poor opening day by his own standards, Brian Porter on USA 749 Full Throttle has moved up to seventh by way of his 2,1 performance today.

Now holding an eleven point advantage at the top of the standings, the reigning world champions on Uka Uka Racing, were looking understandably calm and relaxed after racing today. "Yes it was a good day for us." commented their tactician Jonathan McKee. "We are obviously very happy with the way things went today. We managed to get off the line quickly and we felt we had good boatspeed in those conditions." Asked if he had been following a particular strategy today, he had this to say "It was all surprisingly subtle out there. The wind was pretty steady and there wasn't a consistent side of the racecourse which seemed to pay. It was more about finding the best pressure downwind and avoiding the bad sets of waves upwind." Trimmer Federico Michetti, paid this tongue in cheek tribute to his helmsman. "Rufo (Lorenzo Bressani) likes the breezy conditions, so this makes it very easy for the rest of us. He is like a racehorse, we just take the blinkers off his eyes at the start, and off he goes!"

In the all amateur Corinthian Division, Eiichiro Hamazaki on JPN 783 continued to dominate with another pair of bullets to give him an 11 point overall lead over August Hernandez on USA 533 High Voltage in second and Christof Wieland on GER 635 Unsponsored in third.

With the normal weather system in Corpus Christi now appearing to have re-established itself, local opinion suggests that tomorrow may bring windier conditions still. Racing on Day 3 is scheduled to start at 11 AM local time with two more races scheduled.

Racing at the 2011 Melges 24 World Championship in Corpus Christi Texas continues tomorrow Wednesday 18 May and runs through until Saturday 21 May.

Results after Day two

Pos, Bow/Sail, Boat, Skipper, Yacht Club, Results, Total Points
1. 21 / ITA 817, UkaUka Racing, Lorenzo Bressani, Club Vela Portocivitanova, 6-2-1-2- ; 11   
2. 02 / USA 812, Brick House 812, Kristen Lane, St. Francis Yacht Club, 8-1-10-3- ; 22T   
3. 20 / SUI 596, Blu Moon, Flavio Favini, YCL, 3-6-8-5- ; 22T   
4. 15 / ITA 735, ALTEA, Andrea Racchelli, CVCI, 4-7-7-4- ; 22T   
5. 04 / IRL 607, Embarr, Conor Clarke, Royal Jamaica Yacht Club, 2-5-5-11- ; 23   
6. 17 / BER655, hedgehog, Alec Cutler, Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, 9-8-3-7- ; 27   
7. 29 / USA-749, FULL THROTTLE, Brian Porter, Lake Geneva Yacht Club., 16-9-2-1- ; 28   
8. 01 / USA 811, WTF, Alan Field, California Yacht Club, 1-11-11-8- ; 31   
9. 16 / ITA 819, AUDI, Riccardo Simoneschi, YCCS, 7-12-4-9- ; 32   
10. 32 / JPN 783, Esprit, Eiichiro Hamazaki[Corinthian], Seabonia Yacht Club, 11-4-9-15- ; 39   
11. 25 / USA 820, New England Ropes/West Marine, Bora Gulari, Bayview Yacht Club, 15-10-12-6- ; 43   
12. 06 / USA 623, Brick House 623, Peter Lane, St. Francis Yacht Club, 18-18-6-10- ; 52   
13. 27 / NOR 804, Full Medal Jacket, Eivind Melleby, Royal Norwegian Yacht Club, 5-3-33/DSQ-12- ; 53T   
14. 08 / AUS 553, Bandit, Warwick Rooklyn, CYCA, 14-13-13-13- ; 53T   
15. 22 / FRA 644, ZIG ZAG 18, Henri Samuel, YACHT CLUB DE DINARD, 12-16-15-17- ; 60   
16. 24 / USA 786, BATTLE RHYTHM, Guy Mossman, Carolina Yacht Club, 22-15-17-14- ; 68   
17. 26 / USA 604, Tom Slick, Jeff Wittenberg, Columbia, 10-23-16-22- ; 71   
18. 07 / AUS 686, Coco, Heath Walters, Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, 13-17-19-26- ; 75T   
19. 10 / USA 533, High Voltage, August Hernandez[Corinthian], Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club, 28-14-14-19- ; 75T   
20. 31 / USA 379, Team Velocitek, Daniel Kaseler, Port Madison Yacht Club, 20-21-20-18- ; 79   
21. 05 / USA 700, ARDOR/C.R.E.A.M., David O'Reilly, ChYC, 19-20-23-20- ; 82   
22. 28 / GER 635, Unsponsored, Christof Wieland[Corinthian], Bayrischer Yacht Club, 33/RAF-19-18-16- ; 86   
23. 13 / USA 615, Funtech Racing, Charlie Hess[Corinthian], BYC, 24-27-21-21- ; 93   
24. 03 / USA 674, Rosebud, Scott Holmgren[Corinthian], OCBC, 23-26-22-23- ; 94   
25. 14 / USA 24, Smokin, Kevin Clark[Corinthian], Encinal, 21-24-28-24- ; 97   
26. 09 / USA 344, Cold Shot, Steve Eller[Corinthian], Austin Yacht Club, 17-28-25-29- ; 99T   
27. 12 / USA675, 12happythoughts, David Brede, CYC Seattle, 25-25-24-25- ; 99T   
28. 11 / CAN 121, Black Dog, Dave Black[Corinthian], Etobicoke Yacht Club, 27-22-27-28- ; 104   
29. 33 / USA 480, Monsoon II, Mark Hulings[Corinthian], Corpus Christi Yacht Club, 26-30-26-31- ; 113   
30. 18 / USA 494, Wee Jaggie, Andrew Walford[Corinthian], Oklahoma City Boat Club, 30-31-29-27- ; 117   
31. 23 / USA 15, Abordage, Erwan le Gall[Corinthian], Golden Gate Yacht Club, 29-29-30-30- ; 118   
32. 30 / USA 201, Mako, Stephen McMillan, Tahoe City Yacht Club, 31-32-31-32- ; 126  

A top flight Irish sailing crew leads the Melges 24 World Championships by a slender one point advantage after two tough races in Corpus Christie Texas yesterday.

The five man crew led by Dublin skipper Conor Clarke finished last week's pre-world fixture in third overall,  after spending a week at at the venue training and optimising the Irish boat, Embar.

Happy crew: Pic (L-R) Maeve, Prof O'connell, Conor, David and Nathan

Australian 470 Gold Medallist Nathan Wilmot has been drafted in to helm the Irish entry and his attention to detail has been formidable, according to crew members. The others onboard are Bow: Maeve Judge, Howth YC (they needed a sub 50kg person to make up the weight limit and Maeve is a triathlete and top dinghy crew so she fitted the bill perfectly) Pit & Owner: Conor Clarke, Royal Irish YC and Royal Jamaica YC. Spi trim: Maurice O'Connell, RSGYC and RCYC. Jib trim/tactician: David Hughes, San Diego (a top US pro sailor / coach) and Helm: Nathan Wilmot (the 470 Gold Medallist and triple 470 World Champion)

Conor Clarke was a stalwart of  the 1720 class in Dublin for years for years and still owns the 1720 "Wow" which he keeps in
Lake Garda. Conor works for Digical in Jamaica, hence Royal Jamaica YC entry.

Although Clarke is obviously happy with results thus far,  he is well aware the World championships are a 12 race series - a gruelling 'sprint marathon' and there is still a long way to go.

Clarke's second and fifth yesterday were good enough to see him top the leaderboard at the end of the first day, with a one point advantage over Lorenzo Bressani and Eivind Melleby who were tied on points in second and third respectively.

Here is the official race report from press officer Justin Chisolm.

Day one of the 2011 Melges 24 World Championship in Corpus Christi, Texas, saw two closely fought races completed in sparkling conditions. The first race was sailed in an oscillating 7 - 10 knot breeze and saw Alan Field at the helm of USA 811 WTF, take the win after overtaking the initial leader, Nathan Wilmot on IRL 607 Embarr just before the second windward mark.

By the time Race two got underway the wind had clocked significantly to the right and built in strength up to around 14 - 16 knots. Kristen Lane steering USA 812 Brick House 812, led around the first mark, and despite letting her grip on the race loosen for a while on the second beat, she came back strong to retake the lead at the final top mark. From then on she was totally in control, and after sailing a tactically astute second run, she eased home to take a well deserved race win. A solid fifth for Wilmot in that race was enough to give the Irish crew aboard Embarr the overall lead, just one point ahead of reigning World Champion Lorenzo Bressani on ITA 817 Uka Uka Racing. Tied on points with Bressani is Norwegian Eivind Melleby on Full Medal Jacket, whose 5,3 score puts him in third place at the end of Day 1.

The expectation was always for light to medium conditions to prevail on the first day of the 2011 Melges 24 World Championship, and race one was started in an unstable 8 - 10 knots of breeze, with direction swings of up to twenty degrees. A significant right hand shift minutes after the start, saw almost the entire fleet tack onto port soon after the gun. The boats who got out to the right soonest appeared to pick up a little extra pressure in the first half of the beat, but as the leg progressed it was Nathan Wilmot helming IRL 607 Embarr who came in from the middle right to lead at the top mark. Two to three boat lengths behind was Alan Field on USA 811 WTF. A further five boatlengths behind, Eivind Melleby on NOR 804 Full Medal Jacket, headed a a gaggle of seven or eight boats, including Flavio Favini on SUI 596 Blu Moon, Ricardo Simoneschi on ITA 819 AUDI, and Lorenzo Bressani on ITA 817 Uka Uka Racing. As the two leading boats extended down the first run, the breeze faded a little and became somewhat patchy, presenting plenty of passing opportunities amongst the still closely compacted chasing pack. The dying wind had also continued to clock around to the right, requiring the race committee to shorten the second beat and lay a change mark considerably further to the right.

Given the change in wind direction, the bulk of the leading group chose the right hand gate mark (looking upwind), but second placed Field chose to break off and round the left hand buoy. This ultimately proved to be a race winning move, as by the latter part of the second beat, Field had hooked into a left hand shift and some extra pressure which took him past Wilmot on the approach to the second windward mark. From there on Field was in complete control, and with the breeze now shifting even further right and slowly beginning to build again, he was easily able to maintain his leverage on the fleet to take a comfortable race win. Wilmot proved to be equally safe in second, with Melleby demonstrating some excellent downwind speed to take third.

After a brief delay to allow the breeze to complete its swing to the right, the race committee went in to sequence for the second race. Perhaps anticipating a further shift to the right, the fleet all seemed keen to start at the committee boat end of the line, and the resulting bunching caused a General Recall on the first start attempt. More evenly spread along the line for the second start, the fleet then got away cleanly, with Bora Gulari on USA 820 New England Ropes/West Marine nailing the start at the right hand end and getting an initial jump on the fleet. However even before the mid point of the first beat it was Eiichiro Hamazaki on JPN 783 Esprit, who was making the early running on the right of the course, ahead of Favini and Kristen Lane on USA 812 Brick House 812. By the top mark Lane had squeezed into the lead ahead of Favini and Hamazaki in second and third.

These three boats were engaged in a full on battle for the lead throughout the entire first downwind leg, with Lane ultimately rounding the left hand gate mark just seconds before Hamazaki turned at the right buoy. Favini was hot on their heels, rounding the left mark just a couple of feet ahead of Brian Porter on USA 749 Full Throttle. The scrap for the lead continued up the second beat, with Lane briefly relinquishing the lead to Favini at the midpoint, before coming back strongly in the closing stages of the leg, to squeeze in on the port layline and tack cleanly just feet ahead of Favini. This tack left Favini struggling to lay the mark and his subsequent clearing tack on to port in front of the incoming Lorenzo Bressani on Uka Uka Racing resulted in Bressani doing penalty turns. Lane had meanwhile escaped and was then able to extend her lead down the final run and went on to take the win ahead of Bressani in second and Eivind Melleby on Full Medal Jacket in third.

In the overall scorings, Nathan Wilmot's second and fifth were good enough to see him top the leaderboard at the end of the first day, with a one point advantage over Lorenzo Bressani and Eivind Melleby who were tied on points in second and third respectively. Kristen Lane's 8,1, scoreline puts her in fourth overall, tied her on points with Flavio Favini in fifth.

Melges 24 World Championships include a Corinthian Division for those teams without any ISAF classified professional sailors. The Corinthians race with the main fleet but are also scored separately for the Melges 24 Corinthian World Championship. Two Corinthian first places for Eiichiro Hamazaki on JPN 783 Esprit gives him the overall lead at the end of Day 1, with Kevin Clark on USA 24 Smokin, in second place with a third and a fifth. With a eighth and a second, August Hernandez on USA 533 High Voltage, rounds out the Corinthian top three.

With a more familiar local weather system now appearing to establish itself, there is a good chance that tomorrow will see the full arrival of the Corpus Christi thermal breezes. To give the wind its best chance to develop, the start time for racing on Day 2 has been pushed back to 13.00.Racing at the 2011 Melges 24 World Championship begins on Monday 16 May and runs through until Saturday 21 May, with two races per day scheduled.

Pos, Bow/Sail, Boat, Skipper, Yacht Club, Results, Total Points
1. 04 / IRL 607, Embarr, Conor Clarke, Royal Jamaica Yacht Club, 2-5- ; 7   
2. 21 / ITA 817, UkaUka Racing, Lorenzo Bressani, Club Vela Portocivitanova, 6-2- ; 8T   
3. 27 / NOR 804, Full Medal Jacket, Eivind Melleby, Royal Norwegian Yacht Club, 5-3- ; 8T   
4. 02 / USA 812, Brick House 812, Kristen Lane, St. Francis Yacht Club, 8-1- ; 9T   
5. 20 / SUI 596, Blu Moon, Flavio Favini, YCL, 3-6- ; 9T   
6. 15 / ITA 735, ALTEA, Andrea Racchelli, CVCI, 4-7- ; 11   
7. 01 / USA 811, WTF, Alan Field, California Yacht Club, 1-11- ; 12   
8. 32 / JPN 783, Esprit, Eiichiro Hamazaki[Corinthian], Seabonia Yacht Club, 11-4- ; 15   
9. 17 / BER655, hedgehog, Alec Cutler, Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, 9-8- ; 17   
10. 16 / ITA 819, AUDI, Riccardo Simoneschi, YCCS, 7-12- ; 19   
11. 29 / USA-749, FULL THROTTLE, Brian Porter, Lake Geneva Yacht Club., 16-9- ; 25T   
12. 25 / USA 820, New England Ropes/West Marine, Bora Gulari, Bayview Yacht Club, 15-10- ; 25T   
13. 08 / AUS 553, Bandit, Warwick Rooklyn, CYCA, 14-13- ; 27   
14. 22 / FRA 644, ZIG ZAG 18, Henri Samuel, YACHT CLUB DE DINARD, 12-16- ; 28   
15. 07 / AUS 686, Coco, Heath Walters, Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, 13-17- ; 30   
16. 26 / USA 604, Tom Slick, Jeff Wittenberg, Columbia, 10-23- ; 33   
17. 06 / USA 623, Brick House 623, Peter Lane, St. Francis Yacht Club, 18-18- ; 36   
18. 24 / USA 786, BATTLE RHYTHM, Guy Mossman, Carolina Yacht Club, 22-15- ; 37   
19. 05 / USA 700, ARDOR/C.R.E.A.M., David O'Reilly, ChYC, 19-20- ; 39   
20. 31 / USA 379, Team Velocitek, Daniel Kaseler, Port Madison Yacht Club, 20-21- ; 41   
21. 10 / USA 533, High Voltage, August Hernandez[Corinthian], Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club, 28-14- ; 42   
22. 09 / USA 344, Cold Shot, Steve Eller[Corinthian], Austin Yacht Club, 17-28- ; 45T   
23. 14 / USA 24, Smokin, Kevin Clark[Corinthian], Encinal, 21-24- ; 45T   
24. 11 / CAN 121, Black Dog, Dave Black[Corinthian], Etobicoke Yacht Club, 27-22- ; 49T   
25. 03 / USA 674, Rosebud, Scott Holmgren[Corinthian], OCBC, 23-26- ; 49T   
26. 12 / USA675, 12happythoughts, David Brede, CYC Seattle, 25-25- ; 50   
27. 13 / USA 615, Funtech Racing, Charlie Hess[Corinthian], BYC, 24-27- ; 51   
28. 28 / GER 635, Unsponsored, Christof Wieland[Corinthian], Bayrischer Yacht Club, 33/RAF-19- ; 52   
29. 33 / USA 480, Monsoon II, Mark Hulings[Corinthian], Corpus Christi Yacht Club, 26-30- ; 56   
30. 23 / USA 15, Abordage, Erwan le Gall[Corinthian], Golden Gate Yacht Club, 29-29- ; 58   
31. 18 / USA 494, Wee Jaggie, Andrew Walford[Corinthian], Oklahoma City Boat Club, 30-31- ; 61   
32. 30 / USA 201, Mako, Stephen McMillan, Tahoe City Yacht Club, 31-32- ; 63  

Conor Clarke's Melges 24 finished third overall at the Melges pre-worlds event in Texas yesterday. Let's hope it is a good omen for Irish sportsboat sailors at world championships on either side of of the Atlantic this morning. Clarke is back in action for the main Melges event later today. In Torbay, the SB3 World championships starts and 11 Irish boats are there for the 14 race event. This class has given a thumbs up to the new Dublin Bay courses. On Saturday DBSC racing (that included results for the Royal Alfred's Baily Bowl) produced another great round of racing; Gung Ho emerging the winner of the club's most popular class, Cruisers III. On the far side of the Irish sea, the X422 Xpletive was the winner of ISORA's Pwhelli Day race. Now there is a race for entries for Arklow's Turbine race.
In other offshore sailing, defending champion Brian O'Donnell, on Whyte Dolphin is expected to defend his Gold Leaf trophy on a race from Foynes to Fenit.