Kinsale sailor Sam Hunt is in the thick of the Corinthian battle at the Melges 24 World Championship in Harbor Springs, Michigan, where he is racing as crew aboard Stuart Simpson’s British Team Barbarians.
Hunt is racing aboard Stuart Simpson’s British-flagged Team Barbarians (GBR 691) alongside fellow Irish sailors Bernard Fitzpatrick and Mark Hassett, with Britain’s Fred Kemp completing the five-man crew.
After three more races on Little Traverse Bay on Thursday brought the championship to nine races, Team Barbarians lie second in the Corinthian division of the 49-boat fleet. They are tied on 126 points with Eddie Gary’s American Troublemaker/Gill Race Team, with Simpson’s crew holding second place on the tie-break.
Duane Yoslov’s Looper moved into the Corinthian lead with a strong 17-5-15 day, including fifth place overall in Race 8, and now has an 18-point advantage over Team Barbarians.
At the head of the overall World Championship, Anthony Kotoun’s Wah Gwan strengthened its grip on the title with scores of 1-3-2 on Thursday. The US entry leads on 19 points, 20 clear of Peter McClennen’s Gamecock, with Michael Goldfarb’s WarCanoe third.
Thursday produced three different race winners. Wah Gwan took Race 7 for a third consecutive victory, Bora Gulari’s Mavi won Race 8, while Sandy Askew’s Flying Jenny came through to win Race 9 as the breeze softened.
The standings were also reshuffled after Peter Duncan’s Shiitake was disqualified from Race 9 following a protest hearing, dropping the team from second to fourth overall.
The fleet had headed out in thick fog after race officials brought the first warning signal forward to 10.30am in anticipation of a fading afternoon breeze. Visibility improved before racing began, with winds of around nine to 10 knots allowing all three scheduled races to be completed.
Team Barbarians, which had led the Corinthian standings after the opening six races, now has Looper setting the pace with the championship entering its closing stages. Two races are targeted for Friday, while an improving forecast has raised hopes that the final race can also be sailed on Saturday.
