Santa Barbara Yacht Club hosted the first regatta of the 2021 Melges 24 West Coast Championship Series in conjunction with its annual Fiesta Cup on the weekend of July 23-25, 2021. Racing was held on the idyllic coastal waters of the American Riviera.

Nine races were completed over the course of three days with two races on Friday afternoon in about 13-14 kts, four races on Saturday and three races on Sunday all in light and somewhat shifty conditions.  Friday's races were exclusive to the Melges 24 while Saturday and Sunday the course was shared with the J111, J70 and Harbor 20 fleets.

After-sailing activities included not only the overall camaraderie on the dock, but a beach party with palapa bar, live music and a Mexican buffet on Saturday evening.

As teams emerge from COVID, only seven boats were available to participate but there was no lack of talent as the fleet was peppered with collegiate all-americans, youth J70 national champions, 5o5 continental champions and Melges 24 Corinthian National Champions.  

The regatta was dominated by recent Viper convert Geoff Fargo and his experienced and talented crew of Jeff Grange (tactics), Jon Bell (trim) and Graham Bell (bow).  Look for this team to make some noise on the national level in the months ahead.  Click here for complete results.

The Fiesta Cup is also Event No. 5 on the 2021 U.S. Melges 24 Class’ National Ranking Series.
Click here to view results after 5 events of 10 complete.