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MELGES NA – San Francisco produced spectacular conditions for the opening day of the 2012 Melges 24 North American Championship with competitors enjoying three fantastic races in near perfect conditions. With the breeze up at around 18-20 knots throughout the day it was the bold and the brave who made it to the top of the heap and tonight Australians Warwick Rooklyn, sailing Bandit, and Nathan Wilmot, helming Embarr for Ireland’s Connor Clark, head the leader board.
Rooklyn and his team reveled in today’s strong conditions, giving a master class in heavy weather Melges 24 sailing to win the opening two races and take second in race three. With great starts, great boat speed and impressive boat handling this team barely put a foot wrong all day. Wilmot’s day got off to a moderate start with a seventh, but it wasn’t long before he found his rhythm, and he went on to take second in race two followed by a very confident win in race three. Rooklyn now leads the fleet by six points with Wilmot second on 10 points. Just a single point back lies Newport Harbour’s Argyle Campbell, aboard Rock N Roll, and Italy’s Flavio Favini, helming Blu Moon for Switzerland’s Franco Rossini, who both count 11 points. Alan Field aboard WTF completes the top five and is just a single point behind his rivals.
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