First championship

Melges 32 Nationals taking place at New York YC Race Week

The 2006 Melges 32 Nationals will take place during the fifth biennial New York Yacht Club Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex on July 20-23. This very prestigious regatta commenced on Saturday, 15 July hosting 161 boats, making for nine straight days of competitive sailing. In particular, its split-racing format has made this a very appealing choice allowing sailors to experience the best of both worlds - PHRF in the first half (July 15-18) and one design in the second half (July 20-23).

Eight Melges 32s have signed up to participate including multiple international one design champion and three-time Melges 32 title-holder Mike Carroll from Tampa, FL on USA-131, New Wave; Joe Woods from Torquay, UK on GBR-700, Red; Glenn Darden from Forth Worth, TX on USA-138, Hoss; 2005 Key West Race Week Champion Jeff Ecklund from Ft. Lauderdale, FL on USA-32, Star; new owner Geoff Masters from Australia on AUS-32, Melges Asia Pacific; Walter Kennedy from Charlotte, NC on USA-140, Savannah; John Cooper from Springfield, MO on USA-121, Quick Fix; and Rick Orchard from Duluth, GA on USA-123, Grins.

In addition to conducting its National Championship, the Melges 32 is also celebrating another significant milestone - its very first official birthday! The Melges 32 debuted in 2005 at Key West Race Week and stole the show winning the coveted 'Boat of the Week; trophy. And now, just a short time later, over 25 of boats have been successfully delivered. Described as a "Melges 24 all grown-up and more", the Melges 32 is worlds apart from the commonplace, 30ft racer. It is the culmination of the finest in progressive sailboat engineering and design by Reichel/Pugh, the craft and professional talent of Paul Amon at SOCA Sailboats in Trinidad and Melges Performance Sailboats’ incomparable experience and acumen.

Read our full interview with Melges here.