The first day of racing at the Sperry Top-Sider Melges 24 World Championship 2013, hosted by The San Francisco Yacht Club in Belvedere, California delivered three excellent races sailed in bright sunshine and winds ranging from eight to fourteen knots.

All three races had different winners, with American Terry Hutchinson at the helm of Scott Holmgren's Rose Bud taking the first race, fellow countryman Brian Porter on Full Throttle winning the second and Bermuda's Alec Cutler on hedgehog victorious in the third.

The international field of competitors at the Sperry Top-Sider Melges 24 World Championship 2013 today got a final chance to acclimatise themselves with the waters of San Francisco Bay in a practice session ahead of the start of the championship racing tomorrow.

The Royal Geelong Yacht Club and the International Melges 24 Class Association have released the Notice of Race and opened entries for the 2014 Melges 24 World Championship, which are to be held in Geelong, Victoria between January 27 and February 2, 2014.

This will be the first time that the Melges 24 Class has held a major international championship outside of the Northern Hemisphere and signals the growth of this exciting ISAF Grand Prix sports boat in Australia and the surrounding regions.

The International Melges 24 fleet enjoyed a spectacular conclusion to its inaugural Melges 24 European Sailing Series with a final closely fought regatta in Hanko, Norway.  The series opened on Lake Balaton in May and featured five regattas including Kiel Week, Torbole Melges 24 Week on Lake Garda and the Magic Marine Melges 24 European Championship in Medemblik.