2011 Audi Melges 20 National Championship

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Day Two Concludes With Kiss Firmly In The Audi Melges 20 National Lead

Day two in Miami at the 2011 Audi Melges 20 U.S. National Championship, hosted by Coconut Grove Sailing Club, was equally as spectacular as the first. It was proof that Audi Melges 20 racers simply cannot get enough of a good thing. An early 15-18 knots of breeze helped overnight regatta leader and defending champ Michael Kiss on Bacio stay ahead of the 30-strong, highly competitive fleet. In such a way, Kiss leads the championship nine points ahead of second place overall Marcus Eagan on Cajun Underwriting. Three points further back is Travis Weisleder on Layline.com/Gill Race Team in third.

The first race of the day got underway on time. The first start resulted in a general recall, but just before the second attempt was fired off, the AP went up due to a massive shift at the top. With a quick adjustment the Race Committee had things back on track in a matter of minutes with a clean start. With the fleet spread out nicely across the course the leaders made their way to the mark, beating the all to the punch was Kiss. Eagan looked to be his closest competition rounding second. Kiss maintained the lead, but downwind Paul Reilly's Red Sky Sailing Teammade their move to round through the gate in second behind Kiss. Eagan did his best to stay his position. Kiss claimed another impressive win, Eagan celebrated second, with Reilly finishing third.

Race two followed shortly thereafter with Kiss receiving a major blow, or so we thought, being called OCS. A quick return to the line put him back in the hunt for the lead position. Perseverance paid off big, as leg-by-leg, Kiss worked his way from practically dead last to finish fourth. Reilly had a great race taking first place, followed by another new fleet comer, Sean Scarborough on Rhino. Scarborough found a good groove for second overall, Weisleder played is safe taking a third overall.

The last race of the day brought more of the same from Kiss. A strong, absolutely perfect start placed him right where he wanted. His speed upwind was very good, but downwind he simply blistered the competition downwind. Reilly had another banner race placing second. Weisleder made it a great day finishing third.

With the conclusion of Saturday's racing, discards went into effect in the results, shaking up the overalls ever so slightly. Two more races are planned for the final day of racing - Sunday. Breeze, sunshine and warmth are in the forecast.

TOP TEN RESULTS (Preliminary, After 6 Races, 1 Discard)
1.) Michael Kiss, Bacio; 3-1-1-1-[4]-1 = 7
2.) Marcus Eagan, Cajun Underwriting; 1-5-3-2-5-[10] = 16
3.) Travis Weisleder, Layline.com/Gill Racing Team; 5-3-5-[10]-3-3 = 19
4.) Paul Reilly, Red Sky Sailing Team; 7-11-[12]-3-1-2 = 24
5.) Russell Lucas, Shimmer; 2-[8]-2-5-8-8 = 25
6.) Tony Tabb, Elevation Racing; 13-2-[14]-4-11-4 = 34
7.) Chuck Holzman, Flyer; 4-[19]-8-8-14-5 = 39
8.) Claudio Recchi, Let's Roll; 11-6-4-7-[17]-12 = 40
9.) Ryan DeVos, Volpe; 6-7-6.5/RDG-11-[19]-14 = 44.5
10.) Sean Scarborough, Rhino; 18-[22]-7-15-2-6 = 48

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Official Audi Melges 20 U.S. National Championship Event Website

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Kiss Wins Audi Melges 20 Nationals For A Consecutive Second Time

The eight-race 2011 U.S. National Championship, hosted by Coconut Grove Sailing Club (CGSC), has completed leaving Michael Kiss on Bacio, along with crew consisting of tactician Chris Rast and Jamie Kimball as winners. Kiss' score line included an impressive four bullets (race wins) and a race to spare. "I really didn't think we'd be able to do it," said Kiss. "But, we did. It was really great and a lot of fun." For Kiss, with this win, he is a back-to-back U.S. National Champion.

In second overall was Marcus Eagan on Cajun Underwriting with and incredible performance on his first time out in the fleet. He superceeded third place finisher Travis Weisleder on Layline.com/Gill Race Team by 15 points.

Sunday, the final day of racing rounded out three days of the same spectacular conditions as days past. A nice, pleasant breeze fluctuating from 12-18 knots under gorgeous sunshine was the perfect complement to Biscayne Bay's flat water. The final two races went to Chuck Holzman on Flyer, who hammered the fleet with speed as his next closest contention was Eagan, placing second in both races. Nathan Hollerbach on FU had an amazing last race finishing third.

MANY SPECIAL THANKS
A very special thanks goes to PRO Ron Rostorfer and his entire Race Committee staff. The Race Committee work was very organized and well-run making it the best Nationals ever! To all the volunteers at CGSC who made things, just in general run smooth as clockwork, in particular Maryann & Richard Etkin, and Joann Mathieu.

The class would like to also extend gratitude to every participant that made their way to Miami and joined the fleet at such an amazing event.

Again, a very special thanks to fleet newcomer Wes Whitmyer on Slingshot as he sponsored the open bar on Saturday afternoon at Coconut Grove Sailing Club during the after racing social.

TOP TEN RESULTS (Preliminary, After 8 Races, 1 Discard)
1.) Michael Kiss, Bacio; 3-1-1-1-[4]-1-3-[36/DNS] = 14
2.) Marcus Eagan, Cajun Underwriting; 1-5-3-2-5-[10]-2-2 = 20
3.) Travis Weisleder, Layline.com/Gill Racing Team; 5-3-5-[10]-3-3-9-7 = 35
4.) Russell Lucas, Shimmer; 2-[8]-2-5-8-8-7-5 = 37
5.) Paul Reilly, Red Sky Sailing Team; 7-11-[12]-3-1-2-8-6 = 38
6.) Chuck Holzman, Flyer; 4-[19]-8-8-14-5-1-1 = 41
7.) Tony Tabb, Elevation Racing; 13-2-14-4-11-4-[23]-17 = 65
8.) Claudio Recchi, Let's Roll; 11-6-4-7-[17]-12-10-15 = 65
9.) Nathan Hollerbach, FU; 9-9-18-[24]-9-14/RDG-5-3 = 67
9.) Ryan DeVos, Volpe; 6-7-6.5/RDG-11-[19]-14-13-10 = 67.5

View Full Results