2015 Audi Melges 20 North American Owners

Get ready for an amazing 2015! The racing will be sensational and the victories ahead will be like none before in Miami as Winter Series events number two (Winter Regatta - February 6-8) and three (Melges Rocks Regatta - March 12-14) are next up on the calendar. Be there!

2015 RACING UPDATE

The first 2014/2015 Miami Winter Series (MWS) event is in the books. Jason Michas at the helm of Midnight Blue prevailed to win the overall title on the final day with Marc Hollerbach on FU finishing in second. Our great friend from Italy - Achille Onorato aboard Mascalzone Latino, Jr. rounded out the top three. A super big congratulations to Corinthian champ Brian Hill on Atlas with crewmembers John Goller and Adam Burns!

The Audi Melges 20 Class added a new coaching element in Miami which was well received and provided some guidance and confidence for those who do not typically have access to coaching. This very important initiative will help our new and lower ranked teams improve, not to mention grow the class. As a Class, we will continue to explore how coaching from some of the Worlds' best talent can effectively be incorporated further into the 2015 schedule.

On February 6-8, the 2015 Miami Winter Regatta (MWS #2) will be a three day event and there will be some serious competition for the overall title. Thirty teams are already registered with more expected. Register Now and make this event huge!

As previously communicated we want to improve the overall value equation for the regattas and have made progress on two associated initiatives:

• The regatta fee has been reduced to $350 from $475 per team.
• An informal night to get as many of the teams together for dinner is taking shape. If you are interested in participating please contact IM20CA Admin via email immediately. Space is VERY limited, so please contact her as soon as possible if you are interested. The dinner will take place at Le Bouchon at 18:30 on the Friday, February 6. Each team will order from the menu and be responsible for their own costs.

Melges plans to rock Miami with a huge grand-finale Winter Series regatta on March 12-14! This Melges 20/24-exclusive three-day event will commence on Thursday, and end Saturday with a massive Melges Rocks party! Three incredible days of supreme one-design racing on Biscayne Bay awaits the fleet! Register Now for this event if you have not already!

And the rockin' doesn't stop there! The Audi Melges 20 will hold it's U.S. National Championship during the 2015 Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week on April 17-19. Again, three days of the hottest sportboat racing on the planet will converge on southern waters. The early entry for this event is January 31 so don't waste another minute contemplating whether or not to do it... Big parties and hot racing are on order! Register Online to race the U.S. National Championship.

Taking place in amazing Toronto, Canada, is the 2015 Canadian Nationals on May 29-31. This event will mark the first event of the 2015 Lake Ontario Series.

Solid numbers are expected to compete at all of these event and... they are the last sanctioned events in North America before we GO WEST - to the 2015 Audi Melges 20 World Championship in San Francisco, California on September 30-October 3!

SAIL LIMITATION MARKS

We are pleased to announce that after significant input and discussion from owners across all regions, the sail limitation proposal of replacing a Sail Button Cap with a Participation Button Cap has been approved by the IAM20CA Board and submitted to ISAF for approval.

Essentially the new rule retains and encourages participation by allowing those who participate in any internationally sanctioned event to earn sail buttons, while ensuring that single boat owners are on a level playing field with those owners who have multiple boats. Additionally, to encourage more teams to participate at a World Championship, any team that participates will earn two sail buttons. For more information, visit melges20.com for additional details.

MEASUREMENT UPDATE

The North American Audi Melges 20 Board outlined and clarified the boat modification rules which are an important part of our strict one-design Class in December 2014. The North American Board, Technical Committee and Melges Performance Sailboats (MPS) are pleased to announce that the Audi Melges 20 Class (in North America) will utilize a three-pronged flexible process at sanctioned events to ensure we retain our valuable one-design Class and that every owner is treated fairly.

• At every sanctioned event, each registered owner will complete and sign an Owner's Declaration Form as part of the registration process, that their boat measurement certificate remains valid.
• A class measurer may be asked by the Board to attend any sanctioned event. Any boat registered may be selected for measurement prior to the commencement of the racing, and...
• Random spot checks may occur during the sanctioned regattas after racing throughout sanctioned events.

Our goal is to maintain our great one-design Class where skill and sheer brilliance/luck determine the outcome/results. In addition to the recent Board letter to all owners on this subject, there will be an owners meeting on Thursday, February 5, 2015 immediately following the skippers meeting, with representatives of the Audi Melges 20 Board, Technical Committee and MPS to discuss this matter.

NEW CLASS LEADERSHIP

Effective January 1, 2015 Manfredi Tomei handed off the position of International Class President, after serving for two years, to former International Vice President Rob Wilber. Manfredi provided valuable leadership to the Audi Melges 20 Class and through his tireless efforts, we are now a well-recognized, growing ISAF Class. With Rob becoming the International Class President, Richard Davies becomes the North American Fleet President. With continued strong and passionate leadership, the Board will continue to look for effective ways to build the skill level throughout the fleet, protect and grow this amazing one-design Class in a measured way. With the growth of the Class internationally, the board and all owners need to work together to ensure all regions are fairly represented in the governance of the Class in 2015 and beyond.

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