Two Bullets Send Wah Gwan To The Top in Harbor Springs For Melges 24 Worlds
23 September 2026 - Harbor Springs, Michigan, USA – Harbor Springs served up another lively day for the 49-boat fleet on Wednesday, with changing conditions, three more races and a new name at the top of the standings. Day Two of the 2026 Melges 24 World Championship, hosted by Little Traverse Yacht Club (LTYC) in conjunction with the International Melges 24 Class Association (IM24CA) and the US Melges 24 Class Association (USM24CA), brought the series to six completed races and put the first discard into play.
The race committee, led by Principal Race Officer Mark Foster, completed Races 4, 5 and 6 in a breeze that began in planing conditions before easing later in the afternoon. The opening race started at 11:35 in 12 to 14 knots. The race committee initially set the course at 095 degrees before moving it left to 085 as the breeze shifted.
“The first race finished in 12 to 14 knots, with planing conditions downwind,” Foster said. “It looked like a lot of fun out there.”
The wind continued to move left and soften during the day. Race 5 started at 13:05, with the course later adjusted from 085 to 075 degrees. As the breeze faded and the race became longer, the committee moved the course farther across the lake in search of better conditions. The breeze returned to around 10 to 11 knots for the final start at 14:35.
“It was a great day of racing with plenty of position changes,” Foster said. “The fleet spread out a little at the top mark, but never so much that teams could not catch up. There were no major shifts, but the sailors still had plenty of smaller changes to work with upwind and downwind.”
ONE WIN FOR GAMECOCK, TWO FOR WAH GWAN
Day One leader Gamecock, skippered by Peter McClennen, began Wednesday exactly where the team had left off, winning Race 4. Then Anthony Kotoun and Wah Gwan (USA 865) took over.
After opening the day with a seventh, the team won Races 5 and 6. With the seventh now discarded, Wah Gwan counts 2-3-6-1-1 for 13 net points and leads the championship after six races.
“Today was one of those special days when a lot of things came together, even when it didn’t always feel like they were,” Kotoun said. “We had a mediocre first race, followed by two wins.”
One of those victories came after a start that appeared to leave the team with plenty of work to do.
“One of our starts was really bad, and we ended up having to duck a lot of boats,” Kotoun said. “At that point, we had no idea how the race would turn out, but the crew worked their magic and made it happen for us.”
For Kotoun, the two bullets were a reflection of the work across the entire boat.
“Winning one race at this World Championship takes a complete team effort, and that was really on display today. The competition is incredibly strong, and winning a race is never easy. To get two wins in one day is a wonderful thing.”
Wah Gwan is sailed by Anthony Kotoun, Grant Janov, Jordan Janov, Franny Schulte and Stu McNay.
FOUR POINTS SEPARATE THE LEADING THREE
Behind Wah Gwan, the fight at the top remains tight. Gamecock holds second place with 17 net points after scores of 3-5-2-1-(13)-6. Geoff Fargo’s Sentinel (USA 856) trails by just one point in third, with 18 points.
Peter Duncan’s Shiitake (USA 864) sits fourth with 23 points, while Brian Porter’s Full Throttle (USA 849) completes the top five with 25 points.
Just four points separate the top three boats, leaving little room for error as the championship moves into Day 3.
Team Barbarians takes the Corinthian lead
The Corinthian competition also has a new leader.
Stuart Simpson’s Team Barbarians (GBR 691) moved to the top of the Corinthian standings after a day highlighted by a fourth-place finish in Race 4. The British team now has 67 net points and sits 14th overall.
“We really enjoyed the racing today,” Simpson said. “The conditions did what they said on the tin and were very close to the forecast. The breeze came in a little stronger than we expected, almost as strong as yesterday, which we enjoyed.”
Reading the starting line proved especially important. After favoring the committee boat end on Tuesday, Simpson and his team changed their approach when they spotted a clear advantage at the pin.
“We managed to win the pin in two races, and that really helped,” he said. “The first race was a dream for us. We won the pin, reached the windward mark first and finished fourth overall. That was a real feather in the cap for the team.”
Team Barbarians is sailed by Stuart Simpson, Bernard Fitzpatrick, Sam Hunt, Mark Hassett and Fred Kemp.
Duane Yoslov’s Looper (USA 855) is second in the Corinthian division with 71 points, only four behind the leader. Edward Gary’s Troublemaker / Gill Race Team (USA 811) is third with 75 points, leaving the top three Corinthians separated by just seven points.
EARLIER START PLANNED FOR THURSDAY
With the forecast looking less favorable later in the week, the race committee plans to make the most of Thursday’s conditions.
“After reviewing the weather and speaking with the SailFlow team, we believe the best conditions tomorrow will come with an earlier start,” Foster said. “We have issued an amendment to the Sailing Instructions, moving the first warning signal to 10:30 a.m., and there will be no competitors’ briefing.”
The race committee hopes to complete three races on Thursday and move ahead of schedule, with lighter conditions currently expected on Friday and Saturday.
“The race committee has made a good decision to send us out early with the breeze expected to fade,” Kotoun said. “I’m excited to see what tomorrow brings, especially if it is anything like today.”
Racing can be followed through Vakaros Live Tracking.
The Melges 24 World Championship is supported by
Great Lakes Sports Commission,Gill Marine, Arntson Marine, Running Water, Quantum Sails, Irish Boat Shop, City of Harbor Springs, Nub's Nob, Lulu’s Cottage, Graceful Pathway, Fabiano Brothers, Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau, Little Traverse Yacht Club Corinthian Foundation and Melges Performance Sailboats.
TOP 10 OVERALL - (PRELIMINARY, AFTER SIX - ONE DISCARD)
1.) Wah Gwan, USA 865, Anthony Kotoun; 2-3-6-(7)-1-1; 13 points
2.) Gamecock, USA 871, Peter McClennen; 3-5-2-1-(13)-6; 17 points
3.) Sentinel, USA 856, Geoff Fargo; 5-2-4-2-5-(DSQ); 18 points
4.) Shiitake, USA 864, Peter Duncan; 4-8-3-3-(11)-5; 23 points
5.) Full Throttle, USA 849, Brian Porter; 7-1-7-6-(12)-4; 25 points
6.) Dark Horse, USA 870, Cuyler Morris; 9-6-1-(10)-9-7; 32 points
7.) WarCanoe, USA 876, Michael Goldfarb/Richard Clarke; 11-(24)-11-5-4-2; 33 points
8.) Mavi, USA 874, Bora Gulari; 6-(18)-5-8-3-11; 33 points
9.) StraightArrow, USA 830, Chelsea Simms; (24)-9-10-13-2-15; 49 points
10.) Big Cat, USA 806, Travis Odenbach; (22)-11-9-16-6-8; 50 points
TOP 5 CORINTHIAN OVERALL - (PRELIMINARY, AFTER SIX - ONE DISCARD)
1.) Team Barbarians, GBR 691, Stuart Simpson; 12-17-(22)-4-18-16; 67 points
2.) Looper, USA 855, Duane Yoslov; 13-19-19-9-(28)-11; 71 points
3.) Troublemaker / Gill Race Team, USA 811, Edward Gary; 10-14-12-15-24-(25); 75 points
4.) Team Bagdad Prospects Helly Hansen, NOR 866, Tomas Mathisen; 15-4-17-22-26-(30); 84 points
5.) Zhik Race Team, GBR 777, Geoff Carveth; (25)-20-18-11-23-12; 84 points
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