Porter’s Full Throttle Takes The Lead In Newport

Newport, R.I., 25 June 2010 - A great, yet fantastically challenging day of racing took place in Newport for the 2010 Layline Oakcliff Northeast Regatta, hosted by Sail Newport. Three races were held revealing John Porter with tactican Jonathan McKee on Full Throttle in first place, Jason Carroll’s Argo is second with John Baxter on tactics, and in third is Jim Swartz and long-time tactician Gavin Brady on Q.

Porter’s Full Throttle poured on the speed right out of the gate. Michael Dominguez on Bronco had a great start putting him out front early to round the windward mark in first. Porter trailed in second followed by John Taylor on Ninkasi. Downwind Dominguez held his own to round through the gate with the breeze dropping off significantly and fast. With a change of course to 000, Porter over took Dominguez for the lead for the shortened race to win.

In race two, Q took the lead early with an aggressive pin end start. The really hot contest was between Robert Hughes with tactician Charlie Ogletree on Heartbreaker and Kip Meadows on roXanne with Andy Horton calling the shots. Meadows held on with a strong second position up until the last sprint to the finish. Hughes triumphed staying more center to the course while Meadows struggled with boat speed out on the right. Better pressure put Swartz across in first, Hughes was second and Porter finished third.

The last and final race of the day belonged to Jeff Ecklund on STAR. From almost start to finish, Ecklund had a firm grip on the lead, or at least within sight and was determined to hold on for victory. With Bill Hardesty on tactics, STAR rounded second behind Italy’s Carlo Perrone on Atlantica 19 at the first mark. Ecklund eventually overtook Perrone for the win. Perrone settled for second, Hughes took third.

After racing, teams congregated at Celeritas’ Malcolm and Kathy Gefter’s home for snacks, wine and Long Trail Beer. Daily awards were given out to the top teams of the day. Special thanks to Mac Designs and Seahorse Magazine for the cool prizes provided alongside of the classic, overall daily winner bottles of champaign.

Top Five Results (After 3 Races)
1.) John Porter, Full Throttle; 1-3-4 = 8
2.) Jason Carroll, Argo; 2-4-9 = 15
3.) Jim Swartz, Q; 10-1-6 = 17
4.) Carlo Perrone, Atlantica 19; 7-8-2 = 17
5.) Michael Dominguez, Bronco; 3-7-7 = 17

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ABOUT THE SPONSORS
The 2010 Melges 24 National Championship is graciously supported and encouraged by the following businesses. The U.S. Melges 24 Class Association (USMCA) is especially grateful to title sponsors Layline and Oakcliff Sailing Center.

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