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NEWS
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| JEFF DUVAL WINS WFORC, KRANTZ NOW LEADS THE SOUTHEAST RANKING SERIES | |||
Article courtesy of Scott Gregory, USMCA President • A strong fleet of sixteen Melges 24s participated in the 2007 Melges 24 Gulf Coast Championship this past weekend held in conjunction with the annual WFORC Regatta hosted by the Pensacola Yacht Club. The race committee got racing underway at 10:55a.m. sharp on Saturday morning in a light and shifty northeast breeze. Jeff Duval on Doc Holiday won the left side of the course upwind and took advantage of more pressure along the land to win the first race. Michael Schulz/Scott Gregory on Team Satisfaction took advantage of the same left shift in the second race and held onto the lead in a dying breeze and shortened course to win race two. The race committee sat in postponement waiting on a sea breeze to develop. After an hour a local sea breeze developed out of the east with 5-6 knots and the fleet finished the day with two more races. This time it paid to play the right side of the course up and downwind with more pressure and a right hand shift. Darren Chambers on Image Freeway took first place in race three with great speed and Doc Holiday won the final day of the race. Sam Vasquez/Jeff Lindheim on Tamarak Racing won the day with the most consistent finishes. On Saturday night, LeAnne Pickering hosted a cocktail party for the fleet and race committee at her beautiful home in Pensacola. It included an open bar, full buffet with shrimp, a rather attractive bar tender and a great opportunity to sit down and visit. It has been annual and much anticipated part of the regatta. LeAnne decided to throw the party several years ago in honor of Hal Pickering (her late husband) who was past President of the USMCA and an active participant (along with LeAnne) in helping to grow the Melges 24 class. Day two presented entirely different and much welcomed conditions of 15-18 knots out of the east with chop — great planning weather. Bryan Harrison on My Dixie Wrecked won this first race taking advantage of the right side of the course and solid boat speed. Team Satisfaction won the second race overlapped with Doc Holiday at the finish. The last race of the day went to Steve Jones/Eric Andrews on Sick Puppy who played the barge coming across the course exceptionally well (to the discomfort of the barge driver). The conditions were spectacular with steady planning rides down wind. My Dixie Wrecked was the most consistent boat in the breeze finishing with a 1, 3, 2 score. The top five places were extremely tight with Jeff Duval Doc Holiday winning the regatta with 13 points; Michael Schulz/Scott Gregory Team Satisfaction second with 16 points; Sam Vasquez/Jeff Lindheim Tamarak Racing third with 20 points; Bryan Harrison My Dixie Wrecked fourth with 24 points; and Mike and Rebecca Krantz Lamorak in fifth with 28 points. FULL RESULTS 2007 SOUTHEAST RANKING SERIES > RESULTS AS OF 15 OCTOBER 2007 |
International Melges 24 Class Association
©2008. U.S. Melges 24 Class Association. All Rights Reserved.
