Melges 24 Worlds, New Faces in the Winners’ Circle on Day 4 in San Francisco

As the 2024 Diversified Melges 24 World Championship approaches its final stretch, Day 4 on San Francisco Bay brought three more races to the scoreboard. The day began with a weather briefing by Quantum Sails’ Will Paxton, who forecasted unusual conditions with cloudy skies, high humidity, and lighter winds. The prediction held true, challenging the fleet throughout the day.

IM24CA Championship Coordinator Americas, Carol Ewing praised the Race Committee, stating that these three races were the best they could achieve under the circumstances. The first two races saw winds of 8-10 knots, with gusts up to 12 knots. However, during the third race, the wind began to fade from 230 degrees, allowing the Race Committee to successfully complete Race 10 as scheduled.

The penultimate day of the regatta introduced new names to the winners’ circle. Anthony Kotoun’s Stepping Razor secured two bullets in the first two races of the day. After finishing the earlier race days in 4th, 5th, and 9th positions, today’s stellar performance propelled Kotoun back into 4th place overall, just 4 points shy of the podium.

Anthony Kotoun was super happy at the San Francisco Yacht Club after the daily prizegiving. "This what we came for, and we couldn't be any more happy," he said. "It's the day I'll remember forever - may be on the best boat ever and on the best race course ever here in San Francisco - I will remember it for a long time!" You can't have a better feeling when, after two races, the third will get the most windy; you are getting downwind to realise how wonderful the boat is," he is happy about the decision to buy The Boat, Melges 24.

Interview with Anthony Kotoun

Race 10 saw 2024 Melges 24 U.S. National Champion Geoff Fargo on Sentinel claim the victory. Their consistent scoreline keeps them in 5th place overall, just 4 points behind Stepping Razor. Geoff Fargo was really happy when he shared his impressions of winning the race at the Worlds. "It's an amazing feeling, and I love it!" says Geoff Fargo. "It's just great to be here, and I love Melges 24 Class!"

Interview with Geoff Fargo

The top three remain unchanged, with Don Wilson’s Convexity holding a solid 7-point lead with 22 points (today’s scores: 2-7-4) over Bora Gulari’s Kingspoke (5-4-8). Peter Karrie’s Nefeli completes the provisional podium with 48 points (12-3-10).

In the Corinthian division, Ante Botica’s Mataran 24 from Croatia made a strong showing by finishing among the top three in Race 10, moving up to 11th place overall and maintaining their lead in the non-professional category. Duane Yoslov’s Looper and Kent Pierce’s Average hold 15th and 16th positions overall, completing the provisional Corinthian podium.

With the leaderboard tightening and no room for error, today’s races set the stage for a nail-biting conclusion to an unforgettable championship.

Off the race course, guests from title sponsor Diversified had a fantastic day spectating races on the Bay Area Charters Axopar37 with live racing play-by-play from Paris 2024 US Sailing Team's Daniella Moroz. Moroz and the Diversified guests proudly distributed well-earned "Beer Boat" rations of Fort Point Beer.

Sailors are getting into the groove both on the water and shoreside for socials. After a bit of gloomy, overcast clouds on the race course, it was all sun and smiles dockside back at SFYC. Today's guests for daily awards included 1992 Team USA Olympic Bronze medalist Pam Healy from SFYC. Healy shared stories comparing her own European campaigns with those of today's aspiring Olympians, and she also shared details from the Paris 2024 sailing competition as well as US Sailing's early preparations for LA 2028.  

The daily OCS awards of a new Ronstan ClearStart sailing watch were enthusiastically received by USA 540 Scoundrel and USA 497 Distraction. After daily awards were presented, sailors loved the Friday night SFYC sailor's BBQ featuring paella and a buffet spread.

The regatta's final day includes two races, with the first warning signal at 11:25 AM. The new Melges 24 World Champions will be celebrated on August 24 in the afternoon, followed by the Sailors' Dinner at SFC.

Top 10 after 10 races (1 discard):

 USA 868 - CONVEXITY - Don Wilson (3, 1, 1, 1, 1, 6, 3, 2, (7), 4) - 22 points
USA 820 - KINGSPOKE - Bora Gulari (1, 3, 2, 3, 2, (9), 1, 5, 4, 8) - 29 points
GER 859 - NEFELI - Peter Karrie (2, 2, 7, 6, 5, 4, 9, (12), 3, 10) - 48 points
USA 619 - STEPPING RAZOR - Anthony Kotoun (5, 5, 11, 13, 4, (14), 10, 1, 1, 2) - 52 points
USA 856 - SENTINEL - Geoff Fargo (6, (13), 8, 10, 3, 5, 5, 6, 10, 1) - 54 points
USA 849 - FULL THROTTLE - Brian Porter (4, 7, 3, 2, 14, 10, 7, 4, 6, (21)) - 57 points
USA 829 - RAZA MIXTA - Peter Duncan (14, 8, 6, 9, 6, 1, 2, 11, 8, 12) - 63 points
USA 830 - STRAIGHTARROW - Chelsea Simms (13, 10, 5, 8, 7, 3, (15), 7, 15, 5) - 73 points
ITA 865 - BOMBARDA - Andrea Pozzi (7, 4, 12, 4, (13), 8, 6, 10, 12, 11) - 74 points
USA 863 - DARK HORSE - Cuyler Morris (8, DNF (32), 14, 7, 9, 15, 4, 3, 9, 6) - 75 points

Top 3 of the Corinthian division:

(11) CRO 649 - MATARAN 24 - Ante Botica (20, 6, 18, 5, 12, 7, 12, 9, 11, 3) - 83 points
(15) USA 855 - LOOPER - Duane Yoslov (12, 12, 19, 18, 16, 13, 13, 16, 13, 18) - 131 points
(16) USA 549 - AVERAGE - Kent Pierce (9, 15, 13, 12, 18, 16, 19, 19, 17, 19) - 138 points