Melges 24, Razjaren Prevails in Riva del Garda at the Tie Break

Unfortunately, the weather forecast held true in Riva del Garda, where a strong, unstable front prevented the breeze from spreading over the racecourse. As a result, the final races of the Melges Reunion—the sixth leg of the 2024 Melges 24 European Sailing Series and Italian Melges 24 Tour Act 2, organised by Fraglia Vela Riva in cooperation with the Italian Melges 24 and Melges 32 Class Associations and the International Melges 24 Class Association (IM24CA)—were cancelled.

These conditions solidified the standings established after the first six races, confirming Croatia’s Razjaren, led by Ante Cesic, at the top of the ranking, albeit tied on points with compatriots of Panjic, helmed by Luka Sangulin, who led the opening day of the Garda event.

Interview with Ante Cesic

The best of the Corinthians, Akos Csolto's Chinook, completed the podium. Chinook, one of the most active teams in the International Melges 24 Class Association, also won last year's Melges 24 European Sailing Series.

Interview with Chinook crew Botond Weores

Among the Corinthians, notable performances came from Italian Paolo Brescia's Melgina, which finished as runner-up among Corinthians and fourth overall, and German Luis and Michael Tarabochia's White Room, which placed third among the non-professionals and sixth overall, just behind the Croatian team Point One, helmed by Karlo Kuret.

The event, also serving as Italian Melges 24 Tour Act 2, awarded the Italian national champion title to the best team from Italy: Paolo Brescia's Melgina.

The award ceremony, held at the Fraglia Vela Riva clubhouse, was particularly exciting. Naval artist Luca Ferron, a long-time friend of the International Melges 24 Class Association, attended and donated one of his paintings to the event's winners. This artwork was especially unique as it was personalized on the spot.

The next stage of the Melges 24 European Sailing Series is scheduled for 6-8 September in Tonsberg, Norway - Melges 24 Norwegian Open2024, preceded by the Melges 24 World Championship from 17-24 August in San Francisco, USA.

The top ten final standings after six races and one discard are as follows:

RAZJAREN CRO867 Ante4 Cesic 3-3-(5)-1-1-1 9
PANJIC CRO739 Luka Šangulin 1-1-3-2-2-(9) 9
CHINOOK (COR) HUN850 Akos Csolto 2-(4)-2-4-3-4 15
MELGINA (COR) ITA854 Paolo Brescia 6-7-1-3-(8)-6 23
POINT ONE CRO803 Karlo Kuret 5-2-7-6-7-(10) 27
WHITE ROOM (COR) GER677 Luis Tarabochia 7-5-6-5-4-(8) 27
ARKANOE (COR) ITA809 Sergio Caramel (10)-6-4-7-9-3 29
VERTIGO (COR) ITA730 Antonio Masoli 8-(17)-14-9-5-7 43
ZHIK RACE TEAM (COR) GBR694 Geoff Carveth 4-11-8-(19;DNC)-19;DNC-2 44
PURE (COR) AUT716 Michael Schineis 9-10-10-(11)-6-11 46