Melges 24 European Championship 2024 in Split, a brand new leader in town

The 2024 Melges 24 European Championship opened with light and unstable winds, challenging both sailors and the Race Committee. Hosted by the JK Split and the International Melges 24 Class Association (IM24CA), the event welcomed 41 boats from 10 nations.

After an unsuccessful first attempt by the Race Committee led by the PRO Marko Misura and IM24CA Championship Coordinator David Bartol on the Bravo course near Split's commercial harbour, the fleet moved to the Alfa race course, within the bay between Trogir and Split. The two races, characterised by tricky winds, saw success for Ante Cesic's Razjeren (CRO, 1-14) and Cuyler Morris’ Dark Horse (USA, 7-1), the latter boat making its debut launched only a few days ago. Dark Horse's performance earned them the Boat of the Day title, giving them the provisional overall lead by one point ahead of Andrea Racchelli’s Altea (ITA, 5-4), the former Melges 24 World Champion.

Cuyler Morris expressed his excitement, saying: “After two false starts, we moved to the Alfa course where we had a good breeze and completed two nice races. It was our first real chance to test the boat in a competitive fleet, and we couldn’t be happier.”

Former Finn class Olympian sailor Ivan Kljaković Gašpić’s Universitas Nova (CRO, 3-8) sits in third after a strong recovery in the second race, climbing from the back of the fleet to finish eighth. “The first upwind was challenging, but we finished strong thanks to good tactical choices,” said Gašpić. While he was pleased with the first race, the second proved tricky due to shifting winds and a tough top mark rounding, though they made up ground on the downwind.