The Melges 32s were the headlining show at the St. Croix International Regatta.
Greetings to everyone in the Caribbean Melges 32 Fleet – from new Melges 32 owner Tom Elsen.
This past weekend’s racing at St Croix was just outstanding. To the SOCA guys and to Smile and Wave….Thank you guys for coming, joining in the fun. Race conditions all three days were near picture-perfect. Friday got going with steady 12kts, modest chop and great Caribbean sunshine. Saturday built a little bit, to a slightly puffy 14kts and more chop. Sunday was fantastic. 18-20kts.
A few challenging square waves with more puffs. Just ideal!
Here’s what Sunday looked like. Unreal drone footage from Chris Hanley at Sotheby’s International Real Estate –http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8KOe0MAUIQ
That’s Big Trouble going around the top mark first. Nice. However we were able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory after washing our spinnaker a bit after the clip ends.
Course management by SCYC was spot-on the whole weekend. And the RC was most accommodating for the Melges 32 fleet.
We were treated like special guests. First start. Plenty of communication. Even a delay to allow boats to fix/secure things on the water when it was necessary. THIS is exactly how non-circuit racing should be.
Many many thanks to our hosts at SCYC for all that you guys did to make the event so stellar. Everybody had moments of greatness and moments of pain. Smile and Wave was solid all weekend. SOCA was blistering fast off the breeze and Big Trouble had great pace going uphill. I think SOCA was the only boat to avoid a broach on Sunday. Smile and Wave splatted once (but not for long enough, guys!). And, as this was our first time on the boat, Big Trouble rang the broach bell a lucky three times. The only saving grace there was that we substantially beat the S&W crew’s bet as to how long it would take us to lay the boat over the first time. For all of you who missed the event….we missed you guys more. In big Melges 32 news, the World Championships are coming up about two weeks check in with www.Melges32.com and www.sailinganarchy.com for the inside scoop
Here is the Calendar of events for the Melges 32 Class for Winter/Spring 2015 – some events to be confirmed.
Melges 32 Caribbean Training Weekend – Fajardo, PR – January 3-4
San Sebastian Vela Cup – San Juan, PR – January 17-18
Melges 32 Caribbean Training Weekend – Fajardo, PR – February 21-22
SXM Heineken Regatta – Sint Maarten – March 5-8 Ranking status to be confirmed
Brisa Cup – Fajardo, PR – March 13-15
St. Thomas International – St. Thomas, USVI – March 27-29
BVI Spring Regatta – Tortola, BVI – April 3-5
Puerto Rico International – Palmas del Mar, PR – May 23-25
