What a strange year it has been. At the start of the 2020 racing season everything seemed perfectly on track for another monumental year of Melges 24 racing, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. A highly-anticipated season of nine events were planned, but in the end, after much maneuvering, long-hard hours of work and difficult decision making, the U.S. Melges 24 Class managed to keep three of them in forward motion and on the charts — Bacardi Invitational (Miami, Florida), the Melges 24 Invitational (Traverse City, Michigan - also Event No. 1 of the Quantum Great Lakes Cup Series), and the Atlantic Coast/Gulf Coast Championship (Mobile, Alabama).

A very special congratulations goes out to John Brown’s Blind Squirrel as he is the 2020 USM24CA National Ranking Champion. Bora Gulari’s USA-820 finished the season in second place, followed by KC Shannon’s Shaka in third. Steve Boho’s The 300 and Peter Duncan’s Raza Mixta rounded out the top five.

In the all-amateur division, Roger Counihan’s Jaws finished ninth overall, but saw the front of the pack to win the 2020 USM24CA Corinthian National Ranking Championship title. Jan Frederik Dvyi’s Team Sebago is the only foreign entry in the top five claiming second place, with Brent McKenzie’s X-Kahn finishing third. 2019 Melges 24 U.S. National Corinthian Champion Steve Suddath’s 3 1/2 Men was fourth, followed by Glen Tonguis on Kryptonite in fifth.

Despite the inability for many teams to race across the U.S. and international competitors prohibited from traveling, the National Ranking still saw 50 teams competing.

View Full 2020 U.S. Melges 24 Class Association National Ranking Series Results (FINAL - After 3 Events)

TOP TEN RESULTS - OVERALL
1. John Brown, Blind Squirrel; 56 pts
2. Bora Gulari, USA-820; 49 pts
3. KC Shannon, Shaka; 35 pts
4. Steve Boho, The 300; 28 pts
5. Peter Duncan, Raza Mixta; 26 pts
6. Kevin Welch, MiKEY; 24 pts.
7. Richard Reid, Zingara; 23 pts
8. Roger Counihan (C), Jaws; 22 pts
9. Andrea Pozzi/Alessandro Rombelli, Bombarda; 22 pts
10. Bruce Ayres, Monsoon; 21 pts

TOP TEN RESULTS - CORINTHIAN
1. Roger Counihan, Jaws; 22 pts
2. Jan Frederik Dvyi, Team Sebago; 15 pts
3. Brent McKenzie, X-Kahn; 13 pts
4. Steve Suddath, 3 1/2 Men; 13 pts
5. Glen Tonguis, Kryptonite; 11 pts
6. Thomas Beck, Phonoblock; 11 pts
7. Megan Ratliff, Decorum; 9 pts.
8. Paul Nahon, Risky Business; 7 pts
9. Don Holst, Guten Tag; 6 pts
10. Tony Stanley, Hermes; 5 pts