Lake Geneva, WI - Teams are coming from as far away as Sydney, Australia to celebrate Buddy Melges' 86th year on Lake Geneva, the birthplace of the Melges 24 and the 2016 U.S. National Championship on October 7-9.

"We want to put our boat in the fabled lake that made so many champions. Maybe some of it will rub off on our team," says 2014 Nationals Corinthian Champion, Kevin Nixon steering for the family team on Accru of Sydney, Australia.

From the Pacific Northwest, will be Kevin Welch’s Mikey who leads the 2016 Melges 24 North American Tour after winning Stage 1 - Canadian Nationals in Kelowna, BC.

"We really enjoyed Lake Geneva two years ago with all the wind and lush fall colors. This time we hope to beat the locals (i.e. Brian Porter’s Full Throttle)," said Welch.

There will be more than the locals to worry about this time around with the 2016 World Winter Series winner Bruce Ayres’ Monsoon of Newport, CA, and third-place team Travis Weisledder’s Lucky Dog of Richmond, VA among the deep fleet of world-class teams.

Top Corinthians include KC Shannon’s Shaka of the constantly growing Atlanta fleet, Fred Roselle’s Rustler of Grosse Pointe, and Duane Yoslov’s Looper of San Francisco will also be vying for the podium.

"We booked our lodging over a year ago and we are going for the full tour," said Yoslov, SF Fleet Captain. The Boatworks in Zenda, pool at Chuck’s Tavern, bowling at Delevan Lanes, and of course, great sailing out of LGYC’s Buddy Melges Sailing Center.

With over 40 boats registered, there's room for plenty more entries! Be sure to visit the Official Event Website for accommodation info, a Complete Entry List and Online Registration.