New teams and glorious Melges 24 sailing came together this weekend in Seattle. The Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle was host of the Pacific Northwest One Design (POD) Regatta. The Melges 24 fleet and its smaller cousin, the 5o5 fleet, had top teams out ripping around in preparation for their respective Canadian National and North American Championships, the top two events of the June sailing calendar.

Photo by Jan Anderson janpix.smugmug.com Sailing legend and Melges 24 sailor Carl Buchan on the wire with wife Carol - FD Gold; World champ: Star, 5o5, Laser,.. Look for the Carl, Carol and sailing legend Bill Buchan at the US Melges 24 Nationals i… — *Photo by Jan Anderson* *janpix.smugmug.com*
Sailing legend and Melges 24 sailor Carl Buchan on the wire with wife Carol - FD Gold; World champ: Star, 5o5, Laser,.. Look for the Carl, Carol and sailing legend Bill Buchan at the US Melges 24 Nationals in Lake Geneva.

Sunday’s fresh 22-knot gusts prompted outbursts of raw emotion from many. Stephanie Schwenk of Anacortes, Washington on Alex K’s USA-417 admitted that she had “never used such foul language while having so much fun!” On their first time sailing together, this all-woman team posted a solid 6th place, overall.

Three boats a-blazing along Puget Sound’s Shilshole Photo by Jan Anderson janpix.smugmug.com — Three boats a-blazing along Puget Sound’s Shilshole
Photo by Jan Anderson *janpix.smugmug.com*

Rod Buck sailed USA-832 MYST, the reincarnation of his 1994 model, which was lost in a fire – “Today was fantastic! I have had a lot fun sailing the Melges 24 over two decades and am glad to be back blasting around with friends on the best keelboat ever.”

“Seriously, how much fun is it to scream downwind and seemingly effortlessly upwind all day with four people you just met?” Ashley Bell- bow on MYST.

Top-two teams Mikey and Good Enough battling at the leeward mark Photo by Jan Anderson janpix.smugmug.com — Top-two teams Mikey and Good Enough battling at the leeward mark
Photo by Jan Anderson *janpix.smugmug.com*

“Good breeze, sun and close competition made for a great day. The Northwest can deliver more often than not.” Matt McGregor, POD 2nd place finisher and top Corinthian skipper of the 2015 CSR Melges 24 US Nationals at Cascade Locks. Kevin Welch’s USA-838 Mikey of Anacortes won the event with wins in half of the score line. “We are putting our Worlds crew together and certainly enjoyed being tested by the close competition out there.” Mikey will be one of many teams heading to Kelowna, BC for the Canadian Nationals June 24-26.

After Kelowna the fleet will head to Whidbey Island Race Week, and the 2016 Columbia Gorge One Design Regatta (CGOD) before heading to San Francisco for the Pacific Coast Championship (PCC) in mid-August. Over a dozen west coast Melges 24 teams are making the pilgrimage to see Buddy Melges on Lake Geneva in October for the 2016 Melges 24 US National Championship before heading south after Thanksgiving for the massive 2016 Melges 24 World Championship in Miami and the rest of the Melges 24 World Winter Series.

FULL RESUTS (FINAL – After 10 Races)
1.) Kevin Welch, Mikey; 1-1-(4)-2-1-1-1-1-1-1= 10 pts.
2.) Keith Hammer, Good Enough; 2-2-(5)-3-2-2-4-3-2= 23 pts.
3.) Glenn Klute, Trophy Wife; 4-(7)-1-1-2-4-3-3-4-4= 23 pts.
4.) Mike Bond, Boaty McBoatface; 5-(8)-7-4-4-3-5-5-6-3= 42 pts.
5.) Rod Buck, MYST; 7-3-8-(9)-7-5-4-2-2-5= 43 pts.
6.) Stephanie Schwenk, Wild Rogue; (9)-4-3-7-5-7-6-6-5-8= 51 pts.
7.) Brian Tyrrell, Scruffy!; 6-5-2-6-6-(8)-8-8-7-6= 54 pts.
8.) Tom Greetham, Distraction; 6-6-5-(10 DNS)-9-7-7-9-7= 59 pts.
9.) Ed deTar, Banshee III; 8-(9 DNF)-9-8-8-6-9-8-8= 74 pts.
View Full Results

PACIFIC NORTHWEST ACTION!