75 replies to this topic

[MR.CLEAN]

I can't even believe how badly my head hurts. Heatwave's International Accolades party was the real hit last night, with the BOM pumping out slushy deliciousness deep into the wee hours. More than a few busted heads from people tripping over themselves, impromptu acts on a supercar, and what's possibly the best one, the tiny baby car set up in front of Hoodlum with cones around it, next to the sign reading "Reserved parking for Paul Hulsey."

Too funny.

Today the gin palace is packed with folks, including Lightwave's chef, the Heatwave boys, the entire International Jury - let's see if we can scare them all.

Blowing 5-6 from the SE - should be no problem to get two off, if it keeps it up.

[Grinder]

rock on boys & girls,
thanks.

[Carrera]

Blowing 5-6 from the SE - should be no problem to get two off, if it keeps it up.

Shouldn't be a problem, the model I'm looking at from 0z shows a constant 5-6 all the way through 2pm. The weather has been moving through little earlier than predicted all weekend though so who knows.

[MR.CLEAN]

Nice little start for Flyer and for Nate Hollerbach on Zig Zag. The wind went left shortly after the start, if it holds then all those guys are screwed. Lightwave Nano barged the hell out of that one, but no one held them out. Heading up the course to the mark.

[MR.CLEAN]

With the fleet working up the course (around a very scared fishing boat) it looks like the left side paid decently.

Oh, no, POD again!

POD
Blur (go the low country)
Gannet
WTF
Full Throttle
Bullseye
Fu
RockNRoll
Pied Piper
Musgtang
Lightwave Micro
Lamorak
Zig Zag

[MR.CLEAN]

Huge left shift - almost not laying the reach mark...two boats including Marianne just had to tack to lay it. PRO better be on his move.

[MR.CLEAN]

Start of Race 7:

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[rob-john]

I can't even believe how badly my head hurts. Heatwave's International Accolades party was the real hit last night, with the BOM pumping out slushy deliciousness deep into the wee hours. More than a few busted heads from people tripping over themselves, impromptu acts on a supercar, and what's possibly the best one, the tiny baby car set up in front of Hoodlum with cones around it, next to the sign reading "Reserved parking for Paul Hulsey."

You forgot about the cabbage patch kid in the drivers seat sitting on a phone book.

[MR.CLEAN]

Hoodlum and Flying Toaster are well, well back in the fleet at the top mark.

[MR.CLEAN]

At the bottom mark, POD was still in the lead. Blur is in second, and it looks like Alan Field and WTF in third. Fu is well up there. Good thing, since we're drinking his rum!

[MR.CLEAN]

MIDWESTERNERS STRIKE BACK, CHAMPIONSHIP UP FOR GRABS
DETROIT, September 21, 2007 – Typically shifty Lake St. Clair conditions spelled solid finishes for many Midwestern Melges 24 sailors for three races on Day 2 of the 2007 Audi Melges 24 US National Championship. 8-12 knots of unpredictable wind frustrated many teams, and with lighter breeze forecasted for Sunday there is little doubt that a tough final day is in store for the fleet.

http://www.melges24racing.com/

[MR.CLEAN]

Roundings in a couple minutes. POD is still in the lead, but it looks like WTF might be taking him out!

[MR.CLEAN]

POD just got inside WTF and Blur! Man, that was close...

POD
Blur
WTF
Lamorak
Fu
Flyer
Full Throttle
Rosebud
RockNRoll
Piper
Lightwave Micro
Mustang
Gannet
Bullseye
Sweaty Betty
Tiburon

[MR.CLEAN]

First Top Mark Photos:



More:

Heading down to the finish. Not sure who took it, but it looks like Fu took fourth or fifth just behind Lamorak.

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[MR.CLEAN]

I'm going to get a beer. Someone post the results when they pop up, please.

[rob-john]

Problem posting.... looks like we might not get results up for a while.

[MR.CLEAN]

Whats the matter, Rob?

While we wait for results, check out the video from the start of Race 7.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=0g1AL20UwXY

[MR.CLEAN]

Loads of pics ahead...but first I'm goingg up to shoot the start of Race 8.

[MR.CLEAN]

Got the video...this fleet is so spread out right now it's amazing. Argyle Campbell is banging the corner like a 2$ Thai hooker. (I haven't used that in a while.)

Wind picked up, YET AGAIN in excess of the forecast by a long way.

[byc_redbeard]

Wind picked up, YET AGAIN in excess of the forecast by a long way.
[/quote]


You seem surprised...

Lake St. Clair is always like this.......

[jibeset]

results for race 7

[MR.CLEAN]

Full Throttle and Ullman just crossed about an inch apart, with FT throwing in a little duck. Lightwave Nano just got Ullman too, looking pretty damned good this one.

[jibeset]

Clean,

Are Rosebud and Full Throttle close together on the last race? Must be a good battle between them.

jibeset

[jibeset]

What is it blowing now?

Is it shifty?

jibeset

[MR.CLEAN]

First roundig race two: WTF, Lightwave Micro, Lightwave Nano

[gangbusters]

Clean, we armchair sailors could use some more color please!

[MR.CLEAN]

This is really interesting: Ullman would need to beat FT by 3 spots to be Champion. I can't tell where they are right now. If any of you have the time, can you analyze the top 6 boats? WTF is in the lead, with the Lightwaves just behind. We're headed to the bottom mark to get the roundings and photos.

[Booster]

With 7 races in:
Ft 28
Rose 30
Gannet 36
WFT 37
L Nano 37
L Micro 53

One point seperating the 3rd through 5th place

[MR.CLEAN]

This is wild - Flyer has now taken the lead of the Corinthian class by a good way, and he's in fourth or fifth at the moment up with the big boys. Hulsey is buries, Dow is well back, and it looks like our predictions at the very beginning are coming to bear.

[MR.CLEAN]

And check this out - Cujo is up with the leaders - another great moment from Greg, Tim, Sandy, Lauren and Krista. They've shown some great stuff this regatta - easily the best event the boat has ever had with this owner. Note that Alan Field chartered Cujo for Key West last year, and sailed to a top 10 finish.

[Mr. Squirrel]

Sounds like Greg took your advice and stopped arguing with OngGuy.

MS

[MR.CLEAN]

That was easily the most crowded rounding yet. Video to come.

Rounding: WTF, Lightwave Micro, Flyer, Lightwave Nano, FT, Sweaty Betty, The Drive, Rosebud, Flying Toaster, Marianne, Gannet, Zig Zag, Im With Stupid, Mustang, Team Satisfaction, Fu, USA 511, Cujo, RumBlur, Pied Piper, USA 175, Bulls Eye, Hoodlum, Rapid Sequence, Rustler, Rock n Roll, Tiburon, 12happythoughts, El matador, Bret Walda, Blur, Building Speed, Lamorak, Tamorack, Moxie, DivDat, 2the max, Tramp, Team Gill, Underdog, Timerity, Vapor Trail, Silver, Gazoo, Padawan 3, Evolution, CAN 004, Sand Taco, Catawampas

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[MR.CLEAN]

More pics from Race 8

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[MR.CLEAN]

More

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[MR.CLEAN]

More - this is actually the start of Race 8.

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[MR.CLEAN]

Throttle may well have this one sewn up, which means, I think, that he'll be US Champion and North American Champion.

Flyer just crossed Ullman ahead.

[MR.CLEAN]

WTF is leading to the mark by a bit. This is spectacular! They just crossed Ivey by a couple boatlengths, they're now just a minute or two from the mark.

[Mr. Squirrel]

Clean,

What is the breeze like out there today? Sounds like Rainman is finally getting his swerve on.

MS

[MR.CLEAN]

Rounding: WTF, Nano, Micro, Flyer, FT..... Heading back to the finish now for the final results. More soon....

[MR.CLEAN]

It looks like it's going to be Brian Porter and Full Throttle as the new US Champion, with Dave Ullman as the runner-up, and LA's Alan Field with the third place.

Flyer's going to win Corinthian unless there's some kind of bizarre throwout Juju.


Congrats to all!

[jibeset]

Hey Clean,

Where are the party pics?

jibeset

[MR.CLEAN]

WTF has a picture perfect cover over Nano speeding into the finish

[MR.CLEAN]

Unofficial Finish: WTF with a huge lead for the finish, Nano, Micro, Flyer, FT, Rosebud, The Drive, Gannet, Sweaty Betty, Marianne, ZigZag, Flying Toaster, USA511, Satisfaction, Mustang, Rustler, Fu, Pied Piper, Rumblur, USA175, rock N Roll, Blur, Cujo, Im With Stupid, Hoodlum, Tamorack, Bulls Eye, Lamorak, Tiburon, Gill, El Matador, Moxie, Bretwalda, 12happythoughts, Underdog, gazoo, Timerity, USA397, Evolution, Rapid Sequence, Tramp, CAN004, Padawan, Vapor Trail (or VapoUr trail for all ya Canadians eh) Catawampas, Sand Taco

[MR.CLEAN]

We're headed back to the club to get the pics and vids up - we'll post them shortly. Check back in, and to all of the competitors who are reading this (in a few hours), please check in with your own comments and observations from the championship. This is a nice resource - especially to other M-24 fans, and it makes for a report of the racing that otherwise wouldn't exist.

Huge congratulations to Brian Porter, who, despite still smarting from a World Championship snatched from their fingertips, sailed a consistently dominant three days to win pretty convincingly from Dave Ullman and his Rosebud team. Dave me be the king of surf and big air, but FT had their number all weekend.

Also, big congrats to Flyer - Chuck Holzman and Bora Gulari were in trouble early, but buttoned down and got it done to win the Corinthian Championship.

Too bad about Napoleon Dynamite and Hoodlum Racing - but Paul had a lot on his plate. Chairing and sailing a regatta are incredibly tough, and he probably only got three hours of sleep a night. They looked great up until this morning, but it's so easy for the wheels to fall off the bus when you've got this size fleet with this much depth.

We've got tons of prizes for the competitors, including RejeX polish for the top 5 and the bottom 5, plus Rockboxes from Rock City Marine and some awesome shwag from the Ed. I've got a big Anarchy flag for Cujo, who won the party easily last night. Team Gill had an excellent showing as well in that department.

I love this game.

[Plano]

great job Clean and crew!

[sailingk8]

Sounds like everyone had a great time.
Congradulations all.
Wish I could have been there.

[rob-john]

Sounds like Greg took your advice and stopped arguing with OngGuy.

He just sails better with a hangover is all

[CorrosionX]

Thanks Clean for letting us be a part of this great event! Hopefully this is just the first of many to come...

We're a very small company and don't have the same marketing dollars or distribution as the big boys, but it's our hope to establish RejeX and CorrosionX as strongly among boat owners on the West Coast and Great Lakes as it is established down here along the Gulf Coast. RejeX is a tremendous product that has obvious appeal to racing sailors who keep their boats on trailers or hoists and wants that extra 10th of a knot (or anyone who's proud of their toy, be it a car, boat, RV, airplane or Melges 24). But CorrosionX is like water and oxygen to any sailor -- an absolute necessity and probably the one thing that'll come out of your dock box most often (after the church key anyway).

Thanks to everyone who took the time to check out our site and ask questions! Anything we can ever do to be of assitance, we're always here happy to talk sailboat racing.

'till next time,

J.D. Hill
rejex.com
jdhill@rejex.com
214.651.8627

[MR.CLEAN]

Thanks to you too, J.D. The top 7 Corinthians and top 7 Overall teams all got a nice bottle of RejeX, and we expect them to check in with their comments in the coming weeks, with Lake Geneva's Fall Classic and the Annapolis Fall Flail coming up. I've got a bottle for Team Gill, and will be trying it out for Jacksonville.

I've had half a dozen M-24 sailors come up to me to tell me that their mom, or sister, or nephew, and in one case, their grandmother was watching this report - and they were addicted to it!

If you like this report, make sure to order a bottle of CorrosionX and a bottle of RejeX and give it a try. If a couple hundred people do this, it'll definitely convince J.D. that it's worth it to support our forum.

Thanks to all of you, and keep your eyes out for the videos and pics that we will get up in the next couple of days. This was a blast - we'll see you next time around.

[Hollywood]

Clean Fantastic Job this weekend!
You guys did a fantastic job on providing Real Time Quality Reporting that allowed the people, friends and family that could not be there physically to be part of a great event.
Great Job BYC and Nappy and other volunteers......I have heard you guys did a great job!

Sounds like you guys set the bar!

Its seems I missed a good one!

Cheers and congrats to Flyer, Fu, Hoodlum Toaster, and all other midwest guys !

Wood

[Drunk Slut]

Sounds like Greg took your advice and stopped arguing with OngGuy.

MS

There was arguing? I must have been so busy trimming that I missed it.

Ah, the rumor mill...

[Plus One]

Clean - Great coverage on the racing. No offense, but if you are going to put someone's a face on the video, how about some hot looking babe or two ? Hot boats, hot babes and video are sure way to get thread hits UP!

Just an idea.

[oneguyfromdetroit]

Sounds like Greg took your advice and stopped arguing with OngGuy.

MS

There was never any arguing. One of my responsibilities is to figure out the best way to communicate to the driver; everyone is different. During this regatta, our communication proccess improved significantly, and when it was working, reflected in the results. Now to work on consistancy.....

[MR.CLEAN]

Clean - Great coverage on the racing. No offense, but if you are going to put someone's a face on the video, how about some hot looking babe or two ? Hot boats, hot babes and video are sure way to get thread hits UP!

Just an idea.

Oh, come on...I'm gorgeous.



























Compared to a gorilla.

[MR.CLEAN]

There was never any arguing. One of my responsibilities is to figure out the best way to communicate to the driver; everyone is different. During this regatta, our communication proccess improved significantly, and when it was working, reflected in the results. Now to work on consistancy.....

Actually, it's a credit to you that Maddog finally trusts someone enough to deal with not even knowing where he is on the course. The only way I know when I'm going fast as a driver is when I'm clueless as to everything else.

Fucking great job to you guys. Cujo has been stuck on a nasty little plateau for 2+ years, and if you can hold that crew together for soem winter stuff and into next year, you might just break into the top shelf of the Midwest fleet next summer. Congrats, again.

[MR.CLEAN]

By the way, Mer and RumBlur put some nice pics up here: http://melges24racin...nals/photos.asp, mostly of local boats.

[bgulari]

Anyone up for a game of photo hunt. There is one funny thing about my main on the front page and one interesting difference on full throttle.

[MR.CLEAN]

Anyone up for a game of photo hunt. There is one funny thing about my main on the front page and one interesting difference on full throttle.

Certainly interesting to see FT's flicker bent so much. I wouldn't think anyone would've had any backstay on at all...

[bgulari]

Certainly interesting to see FT's flicker bent so much. I wouldn't think anyone would've had any backstay on at all...

Our backstay had just blown off by accident
it was fairly breezey at the top mark we we got there. Not looking close enough though


little hint the difference on ft in not on the main obviously since we cant see it

[sailski]

Our backstay had just blown off by accident
it was fairly breezey at the top mark we we got there. Not looking close enough though
little hint the difference on ft in not on the main obviously since we cant see it

Jibs roll different directions?

[MR.CLEAN]

tack line on Flyer off more than FT?

[US32Wet]

Certainly interesting to see FT's flicker bent so much. I wouldn't think anyone would've had any backstay on at all...

FT's Jib is zipped on?

[bgulari]

Jibs roll different directions?

We have a winner.

Second one is on our main hard to spot unless you know the mains well

[US32Wet]

We have a winner.

Second one is on our main hard to spot unless you know the mains well

Your country designation and number are in the wrong place.

[Wind Toy IV]

the reinforcement dot for the end of the spreader doesn't line up with the end of the spreader

[bgulari]

the reinforcement dot for the end of the spreader doesn't line up with the end of the spreader

We have a second winner, Loft rats must have found the secret stash that day. Looks like they measured in from the leach in stead of the luff

[Wind Toy IV]

what is my prize rainman?

[bgulari]

what is my prize rainman?

congrats you are as unproductive as i am

[Wind Toy IV]

congrats you are as unproductive as i am

I don't know about that. I am definetly more productive then you are...

[sailski]

We have a winner.

Second one is on our main hard to spot unless you know the mains well

We want our prizes!

[SailDry]

Our backstay had just blown off by accident
it was fairly breezey at the top mark we we got there. Not looking close enough though
little hint the difference on ft in not on the main obviously since we cant see it

Why does the Q main have such a small headboard compared to the North?

[bgulari]

Why does the Q main have such a small headboard compared to the North?

look closer i think it is the same size. Due to the color of head of the quantum the shadow hides it a little better.

[rob-john]

While we're doing sail questions, does it really matter which way the jib furls? I could understand it if
you always did mark roundings in one direction.

[bgulari]

While we're doing sail questions, does it really matter which way the jib furls? I could understand it if
you always did mark roundings in one direction.

it does matter causing the headstay to unwind more or less because of the winds on the wire

[US32Wet]

it does matter causing the headstay to unwind more or less because of the winds on the wire

You can get the headstays in both left and right hand wire, so that doesn't really matter. It's more to do with the way you want to furl up the jib, the starboard furl is meant to help get the jib out of the lazy sheet easier as you furl.

[bgulari]

You can get the headstays in both left and right hand wire, so that doesn't really matter. It's more to do with the way you want to furl up the jib, the starboard furl is meant to help get the jib out of the lazy sheet easier as you furl.

you positive about, have to wait to research. But I think the headstay and the jib halyard have opposite turns. If you do the opposite turn you blow out jib halyards more. If you do the regular way you burn out more headstays