Eleven teams from across the country competed at the Melges 32 U.S. National Championship last weekend in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Part of the 2015/2016 Blue Water Series, the weekend also included the first ever Corinthian national title. Quantum teams finished strong, taking four of the top five spots and winning the inaugural Corinthian event.
Inaugural Melges 32 U.S. National Corinthian Champions.
Conditions were windy and wavy Dec. 4-6 as teams competed in eight races. In the end, it was Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio’s G-Spot taking second with 24 points. Ryan DeVos and Dalton DeVos on Volpe and Delta were right behind di Lapigio with 25 and 26 points.
The big news for the event was the first ever Corinthian championship. The DeVos family and Jason Carroll, owner of the winning boat Argo, sponsored the youth team that won the Corinthian title. Team Hydra was helmed by 2015 Quantum Collegiate Female Sailor of the Year Morgan Kiss. The team also included Quantum’s Marty Kullman and youth sailors from Macatawa Bay, Lauderdale, and Larchmont yacht clubs.
Quantum’s Melges 32 class guru Scott Nixon said the U.S. National Championship wraps up a great year of sailing for Quantum customers. “Quantum teams used stock Fusion M upwind sails and mainly the A2.5 AP max runner in the powerful conditions,” he said. “The jibs continue to cover the wind ranges well, and it was reaffirmed in the big winds off Lauderdale when to get the smaller class heavy jib. The Quantum A2.5 is still the class favorite spinnaker, and many teams are now sailing with two of these onboard, using Dynakote .75 for 0-10 knots and the AirX 650 for 11-plus knots.”
The Melges 32 class is still going strong and will pick up this wither with two more events in Ft. Lauderdale, including the upcoming Gold Cup, February 12-14, 2016. The 2016 summer season will kick off in Newport, and Italy will be strong with the full Aid-Tron Sailing Series starting in April.
Congratulations to all the top finishers, and happy holidays!
For full results from the 2015 U.S. National Championship, click here.