Kilroy Secures North American Title on Stunning Final Day of Racing
The final day of the Audi Melges 20 North Americans again delivers postcard conditions from San Francisco Bay
San Francisco, Calif. - Continuing with the trend of making bold, accurate calls throughout the weekend, PRO Bruce Golison sent the Audi Melges 20 fleet out for a noon start with two races scheduled to determine the 2014 North American Champion, along with the top ten that was anything but settled. As if on cue, once to the starting area in the Berkeley Circle, the breeze built from 270 degrees and allowed for another perfect day of sailing with 9-14 knots of wind. Audi Melges 20s really come into their own in this condition with settled upwind sailing, and easy, fast planing downwind. It is tough to put into words how perfect the conditions were, and with the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and Angel Island as the backdrop it made for some truly memorable racing.
2014 North American Audi Melges 20 - Cesar Gomes Neto's Portobello and
Michael Kiss' Bacio having a shot to displace John Kilroy's Samba Pa Ti
With only Cesar Gomes Neto's Portobello and Michael Kiss' Bacio having a shot to displace John Kilroy's Samba Pa Ti from winning the event, it did not take long for Kilroy and his team to squash any hopes of last day drama as they went out and finished second in the first race, sealing the win with a race to spare. Finishing second overall never felt so good as the bullet went to the younger Kilroy, Liam on Wildman who won his first ever Audi Melges 20 race and had a shot to get fourth in the event.
Kilroy was able to sail a victory lap in the last race, but there was still plenty of drama in the middle of the fleet as essentially every finishing spot was still up for grabs in the final standings. Jim Wilson's Oleander team needed to have a solid last race to fend off a push from the Liam Kilroy and Richard Davies' Section 16, while both Kiss and Gomes Neto had to avoid tough races to hang onto their podium finishes. In the end, the two would tie and have their places determined by a count back, while Wilson was able to take a second in the last race and solidify his fourth place overall finish. Taking second place on the day and sliding into fifth overall was Liam Kilroy and a very excited Wildman team.
Hailing from San Francisco, Doug Wilhem and his Wilco team improved a ton over the weekend and took home the Corinthian honors and will be a team to watch as the Corinthian World Championship title will be decided on these same waters in October of 2015. From here, the Audi Melges 20 fleet takes a small break from its World Tour to regroup and set the stage for what will be a heated winter series in Biscayne Bay. With years of experience of hosting the winter series, the Coconut Grove Yacht Club is teed up again for another successful season of winter sailing.
SPECIAL THANKS
The International Audi Melges 20 Class Association (IAM20CA) wishes to extend appreciation to all the teams that raced this past weekend, the continued worldwide support of Melges USA, to our host club The San Francisco Yacht Club and all their volunteers, especially Angie Lackey and Forrest Gay as well as the many others that made this event spectacular. It truly was a tell tale regatta of the amazing World Championship yet to come in 2015. As always, the spectacular Race Management team of Bruce Golison and Co. made eight races the very best ever!
TOP TEN RESULTS (FINAL - After Eight Races, One Discard)
1.) John Kilroy/Paul Goodison/Jeff Reynolds, Samba Pa Ti; 1-1-2-2-1-[4]-2-1 = 10
2.) Michael Kiss/Michael Buckley/Wille McBride, Bacio; 8-2-3-1-[10]-1-7-3 = 25
3.) Cesar Gomes Neto/Scott Nixon/John Bowden, Portobello; 7-4-1-3-[7]-3-3-4 = 25
4.) James Wilson/Jeremy Wilmot/Sam Rogers, Oleander; 5-5-[8]-8-2-5-5-2 = 32
5.) Liam Kilroy/Steve Hunt/Erik Shampain/Stephanie Roble, Wildman; 6-[15]-12-6-6-2-1-5 = 38
6.) Richard Davies/Charlie McKee/Matt Pistay, Section 16; 4-[13]-9-4-3-7-8-6 = 41
7.) Alexis Michas/Mark Mendleblatt/Brian Ledbetter, Midnight Blue; 2-3-5-[15]-5-14-10-7 = 46
8.) Marc Hollerbach/Jonathan McKee/Ben Allen, Fu; 9-6-[11]-5-9-10-4-10 = 53
9.) Andrea Pozzi/Lorenzo Bressani, Bombarda Racing; 10-9-4-12-8-[22/DNF]-6-12 = 61
10.) Rob Wilber/Anthony Kotoun/Dave Hughes, Cinghiale; 3-10-10-9-[12]-9-15-13 = 66
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