Favini Still In Charge By Three Points After Seven Races At Bacardi Miami Sailing Week

It was yet another grand day on the water for the Melges 24 fleet at Bacardi Miami Sailing Week (BMSW). Four more races were added to the scoreboard with Flavio Favini at the helm of Franco Rossini's Blu Moon hanging on for first overall. Closing the gap by another point was Riccardo Simoneschi aboard Audi taking three out of four possible bullets on day two, inching ever closer to the top spot. Nathan Wilmot at the helm of Conor Clarke's Embarr kept in time with the two all-Italian front-running teams to finish the day in third.

PRO Bruce Golison hinted to the fleet early on that four races may be the way to go since the breeze forecast for Saturday, the final day of Bacardi, might be extremely light in comparison to days past.

Warm temps, 10-15 knots of breeze and classic Biscayne Bay conditions enabled Simoneschi to serve up nothing but speed and great tactics from tactician Gabriele Benussi. "It was a very good day for us," said Simoneschi. "We have not sailed very much this winter, so we are still shaking off the rust. I have been here so many times and the conditions are just incredible. Gabriele really did a terrific job, placing us in all the right places and we had a couple of very good starts."

"Sunday will be lighter and surely, the approach will be more like match racing with Favini," continued Simoneschi. "We are already first and second. It will be very interesting to see what happens tomorrow. Flavio has to finish fourth and we have to win." 

Tonight teams are not only going to go and enjoy and open bar at the Bacardi hospitality tent, but also — it's Melges Rocks night in the grove. Be sure to hop out to the Melges Facebook Page as they'll be bringing you some live shots of all the great camaraderie and party from Miami. 

Only one race is scheduled on Saturday as Bacardi limits the event to eight races.

TOP TEN RESULTS (After seven races)
1.) Flavio Favini/Franco Rossini, Blu Moon; 2-1-1-2-[4]-2-2 = 10
2.) Riccardo Simoneschi, Audi; 3-[5]-2-1-1-5-1 = 13
3.) Nathan Wilmot/Conor Clarke, Embarr; 1-2-4-[6]-2-6-4 = 19
4.) Kristen Lane, Brickhouse 812; 5-3-3-[14]-3-4-5 = 23
5.) Alan Field, WTF; 4-[11]-5-10-7-3-6 = 35
6.) Bruce Ayres, Monsoon; 7-7-7-3-8-[14]-8 = 40
7.) Argyle Campbell, Rock n' Roll; 6-9-8-8-[12]-8-3 = 42
8.) Derek Ratterray/Richard Thompson, Black Seal; 12-4-6-4-10-[15]-9 = 45
9.) Cary Seigler, Rocksteady; 10-14-[22/OCS]-15-6-1-7 = 53
10.) Don Wilson, Convexity; 9-[12]-9-9-5-9-12 = 53
View Full Results
View Photo Gallery - JOY

###

The Melges 24 is designed by Reichel Pugh and considered the most unique one design sportboat in the world as well as one of the all-time greatest and fastest-growing classes of high performance yachts. For more information visit the U.S. Melges 24 Class Association (USMCA) and theInternational Melges 24 Class Association (IMCA) on the web. Friend the USMCA on Facebook, or Follow On Twitter.

For more information or press photos, please contact:
Joy Dunigan
U.S. Melges 24 Class Association
Press Officer | Class Communications Director
+1 (912) 398-5776