Brutal!

We speak to Brian Porter about life at the front end of the Melges 24 World Championship gold fleet

Brian Porter is one of the stalwarts of the Melges 24 class having been one of the first owners when the boat was launched. TheDailySail spoke with him on Thursday afternoon after a difficult light airs day at the Melges Worlds in Hyeres where a 9,14,17 scoreline for the day put them in 5th overall in the gold fleet.

Porter is a very successful businessman and runs a financial services company in Chicago with his brother John. He is close friends with the Melges family and Harry Melges sails with him on Full Throttle. Their home club is at Lake Geneva in Wisconsin and Porter also sails the E and A Scows and heads out ice yachting in the winter.

Porter is current North American champion, having beaten Dave Ullman to the title by a point and has always been in the top places at the big Melges regattas – but has never won…

TheDailySail: How was it out there today?

Brian Porter: It was brutal! It was very light airs and very difficult conditions and we had a very mediocre day. But it could have been a lot worse! The wind was between 3-5knots all day.

A couple of boats seemed to be set up really well and going fast today. At times our speed was ok but in the first race, when it was the lightest, we were barely moving. P and P had a terrific day with an 8,1,19. They really sailed well.

Nicola Celon on Bette had a really good day and is probably only 10 or so points out of first – and that’s nothing out here if we race in these conditions again. I mean it is real easy to be in the forties or fifties.

Most people had some really horrible races and there were some really good sailors, you know, at the end of the deal. It was hard sailing with some pretty big swings in the wind direction – and especially in the velocity.

TDS: Have your tactics changed for the Gold fleet?

BP: Well I think in the light everyone kind of keeps their boats going. There’s not the differential you have in the big breeze where top guys seem to break away and sail around everybody pretty quickly. Although the top guys do tend to get out in this lighter stuff too there are a lot more boats going the same speed.

The starts were really congested and slow moving, just really hard sailing.

TDS: Has today mixed up the results?

BP: Yeah I am sure that’s happened. The first six races were in beautiful breeze and I know that coming into today there were 15 boats that a real legitimate shot at winning this thing. I have now idea how it is all going to play out. P and P have a really nice jump but I don’t think that they have clinched it?

TDS: Any difficult moments for you on Full Throttle today?

BP: We were back there a couple of times. We managed to extricate ourselves from some pretty hellish spots. We really took our lumps at times and when we felt there was pressure somewhere we didn’t stop – we just got there. Even when it was just pain to get there, we did it. It hurt us a couple of times too, because we were wrong! It was tough, tough sailing.

It was very tough to start as the wind was so light that it was very congested and very difficult. It took so long to get cleared out from the line.

In the last race we must have crossed behind, I guess, 35 or 40 boats up the first beat. When I first checked the line it was pretty square, and we were leaning to having the seabreeze coming out of the right – which it kind of threatened to so in the second race.
And so we started by the right and a big lefty came in just a couple of minutes before the gun. It was so light that you obviously couldn’t get down the other end of the line, particularly with all the congestion on the line – you doing three knots at the best.

In that last race the left had a great deal of velocity and about a 25 degree windshift. We had a decent start but as the wind backed we couldn’t stay on the hip of the guy we were on and to take one hitch to clear out of that. But then we just bee-lined for the left, found a nice lane and I think we rounded the top mark in the mid teens.

TDS: What is your opinion on how most of the boats have set themselves up?

BP: Well most boats measured in a flatter suit of sails for the expected windier weather but one guy, who was going really well today, had nice deep sails and he sailed pretty well with them in the windy stuff too.

There were a couple of boats that you didn’t want to be around today as they were really going well.



TDS: Have you liked the event overall?

BP: I love it! Its just a beautiful venue and such a great place to sail. It is too bad the breeze hasn’t worked out and we had to loose a day with it being just too windy. That was too bad as I think everyone loves sailing these boats in the breeze – and it makes it a lot easier for everyone as we are all moving at the start.

TDS: What have been your strengths in this regatta?

BP: Well we’ve been pretty consistent and I have sailed quite a bit in the light air too. We didn’t feel like our set up today was great – but its really good in the breeze, so that has helped us up until today. Sail wise we’re using North Sails from San Diego.

TDS: And how are you doing with your team?

BP: I have sailed with these guys a lot, and also against them. We were together as a team in the 2000 Worlds in La Rochelle. I haven’t sailed the boat much – I did the Worlds last fall and also the North Americans, which was a light air event. It showed a little on the boat today, I was a little rough and I didn’t feel great about driving the boat.

TDS: Still in for a good result?

BP: Well I wouldn’t know as I have seen the results overall . I know that there were a lot of guys that had really bad races. Alina had one good result then two really horrible ones so they will have dropped.

We had 17 points after the first six races and today we added 31 points in just three races. But we probably didn’t come out of it that bad.

TDS: Who’s looking favourite?

BP: Well P and P are looking really sharp. But they will be pretty nervous if it is light again tomorrow, as there is only the one discard.