Weisleder/McMillan Win 2019 Melges 24 North American Championship Titles on Final Wet and Windy Day

Travis Weisleder's Lucky Dog got lucky on the final day of NAC competition. Inclement weather allowed for only one race. Weisleder attacked the shifts, got a top five score to win the Championship. - © Bill Crawford - Harbor Pictures Company

Born and raised on breeze, Canada's Fraser McMillan on Sunnyvale prevailed to win top Corinthian honors at the 2019 Melges 24 North American Championship. - © Bill Crawford - Harbor Pictures Company

1st Place, 2019 Melges 24 North American Champions - Lucky Dog/Gill Race Team: Travis Weisleder, Mike Buckley, George Peet, John Bowden and Chewy Sanchez. © Bill Crawford - Harbor Pictures Company

Article By International Melges 24 Class Association - August 18, 2019 - Traverse City, Michigan, USA - Congratulations are in full order for 2019 Melges 24 North American Champions: Travis Weisleder, tactician Mike Buckley, George Peet, Chewy Sanchez and John Bowden on Lucky Dog/Gill Race Team. A big round of congrats is also extended to 2019 Corinthian NAC Champs - Fraser McMillan at the helm of Sunnyvale with crew members Aiden Koster, Alexander Levkovskiy and Keegan Moynihan.

2nd Place, 2019 Melges 24 North American Championship - Zingara: Richard Reid, Scott Nixon, Bill Gooderham, Victor Diaz DeLeon. © Bill Crawford - Harbor Pictures Company

Richard Reid on Zingara had a tough day. After leading the event for the past two days, he finished Race Six in seventh place, putting him one point behind the new NAC Champions with throwouts going into effect. Kevin Welch's MiKEY with Jeff Madrigali at the helm came third, followed by Jack Jenning's Pied Piper in fourth, and 2019 NAC Corinthian winner Fraser McMillan completed the top five.

3rd Place, 2019 Melges 24 North American Championship - MiKEY: Jeff Madrigali, Mark Ivey, MarsKevin LeBarron, Ian Sloan, Serena Vilage. © Bill Crawford - Harbor Pictures Company

Teams headed out to the racecourse for the third and final day of competition at the 2019 Melges 24 North American Championship, hosted by the Grand Traverse Yacht Club (GTYC) on time and under sunny, yet breezy conditions anticipating two races. The breeze built fast and soon, the sun disappeared and heavy thunderstorms were on the horizon.

1st Place Corinthian, 2019 Melges 24 North American Corinthian Champions - Sunnyvale: Fraser McMillan, Aidan Koster, Alexander Levkovskiy, Keegan Moynihan. © Bill Crawford - Harbor Pictures Company

About one hour later, the Race Committee finally got a solid race course set and the fleet went racing in a wet and wild 18-20+ knots of breeze with Welch/Madrigali and Jack Jenning's Pied Piper battling into the first mark side-by-side. Once around, Welch/Madrigali launched into the lead. Jennings followed in second, and Wes Whitmyer's Slingshot in third. Tom 'Cash Money' Roop on Collusion, and Chris Jefferies Perky 2 were chasing in fourth and fifth. With the breeze still pumping, Whitmyer caught Jennings at the gate, then took the upwind lead to round the final top mark in first. Whitmyer took a quick penalty turn after rounding the offset opening up opportunity for Welch/Madrigali to ultimately take back the lead and win. Whitmyer had his best finish yet for the event in second, followed by Jennings in third.

2nd Place Corinthian, 2019 Melges 24 North American Championship - Flying Toaster: Mike Dow, Bob Clark, Brad Savage, Gregg Diehl. © Bill Crawford - Harbor Pictures Company

At the completion of the North American Championship, Weisleder is now the current Series leader of the International Melges 24 Class Association's (IM24CA) North American Championship Series with two events completed. Only one final regatta remains - the Canadian Nationals in Ontario, Canada on September 20-22.

On the U.S. Melges 24 Class' National Ranking Series, Welch still holds all the coins, seated in first overall, with Weisleder trailing by three points. Whitmyer and Reid had a great event in Traverse City, both moving up the leader board to sit third and fourth respectively. Bruce Ayres' Monsoon is fifth.

3rd Place Corinthian, 2019 Melges 24 North American Championship - Zig Zag: Marty Jensen, Terry Meyer, John Kunitzer, Bridget McAvoy. © Bill Crawford - Harbor Pictures Company

Youth Team, 2019 Melges 24 North American Championship - TACS: Student Driver: Benjamin Ferris, Robert Obrien, Ella Beck, Liam Clone, Gabe Maday. © Bill Crawford - Harbor Pictures Company

SPECIAL THANKS
Events of this size don't just happen by themselves. Countless hours and time are put into organizing and preparation. The Melges 24 Class is eternally grateful to all the members of the GTYC for welcoming the fleet into their amazing club. In particular, a big round of thanks to PRO Jeff Maier and his league of Race Committee volunteers, Scot and Liz Zimmerman, Tom Roop, Jim Sobie, Jordan Owen, just to name a few. And of course, a very special thanks to our sponsors who without their support, this event would not have been possible.

UP NEXT
There are tons more events ahead such as the forthcoming 2019 Melges 24 World Championship on October 5-12 in Villasimius, Italy preceded by the pre-Worlds at the same venue on September 20-22. In North America, the final leg of the West Coast Championship Series, the California Cup happens September 13-15 in Santa Cruz, CA, the 2019 Canadian Nationals in Ontario, Canada on September 19-22, the Atlantic/Gulf Coast Championship takes place on November 16-17 in Pensacola, Fla., then it's onward to the first event of the Bacardi Miami Winter Series on December 14-15. Check them all out, get signed up and go racing on your Melges 24!

JUST PUSH PLAYBACK - SEE THE RACING WITH TRAC TRAC
TracTrac supported the racing in Traverse City, Michigan at the North Americans. Watch the racing all over again at this viewable link: https://www.tractrac.com/event-page/event_20190815_MelgesNort/1648

TOP TEN RESULTS (FINAL, After Six Races, One Discard)
1.) USA Travis Weisleder, Lucky Dog/Gill Race Team; 2-4-[16]-1-1-4 = 12
2.) CAN Richard Reid, Zingara; 1-2-2-4-4-[7] = 13
3.) USA Kevin Welch/Jeff Madrigali, MiKEY; 13-1-[14]-2-2-1 = 19
4.) USA Jack Jennings, Pied Piper/National Marine; 4-5-8-[22]-5-3 = 25
5.) CAN (C) Fraser McMillan, Sunnyvale; 9-7-[10]-3-3-5 = 27
6.) USA Wes Whitmyer, Slingshot; 16-[23]-6-9-7-2 = 40
7.) USA (C) Mike Dow, Flying Toaster; 7-6-1-[42/RET]-13-14 = 41
8.) USA (C) Marty Jensen, Zig Zag; [21]-16-5-20-6-10 = 57
9.) USA John Shockey, Wombmates Racing; 5-12-3-[26]-12-10 = 58
10.) USA (C) Scot Zimmerman, Bad Idea; 10-14-12-5-[42/RET]-18 = 59
Full Results

TOP FIVE CORINTHIAN RESULTS (PRELIMINARY, After Six Races, One Discard)
1.) CAN Fraser McMillan, Sunnyvale; 9-7-[10]-3-3-5 = 27
2.) USA Mike Dow, Flying Toaster; 7-6-1-[42/RET]-13-14 = 41
3.) USA Marty Jensen, Zig Zag; [21]-16-5-20-6-10 = 57
4.) USA Scot Zimmerman, Bad Idea; 10-14-12-5-[42/RET]-18 = 59
5.) CAN Dan Berezin, Surprise; 23-3-[28]-7-20-11 = 64
Full Corinthian Results

Day One photos by © Bill Crawford - Harbor Pictures Company
Day Two photos by © Bill Crawford - Harbor Pictures Company
Day Three photos by © Bill Crawford - Harbor Pictures Company

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The Melges 24 North American Championship is supported by Hagerty Insurance, Quantum Sails, Boston Whaler, Mercedes-Benz, Melges Performance Sailboats, Costa, Baird Wealth Management, Irish Boat Shop, TruNorth Financial Group, Tito's Handmade Vodka, Bevanda Products, Sail22, Good & Ugly, Coral Reef Sailing Apparel (CRSA), Folgarelli's, The Center Plastic Surgery and Skin Care, Crew Facility Services, Snowden Commercial, West Bay Boatworks, Off Grid Food Co., Third Coast Insurance Agency, Ellibee Irrigation and Prestige Worldwide.

2019 Melges 24 North American Championship fleet racing. © Bill Crawford - Harbor Pictures Company