First blood to Section 16

Richard Davies and crew win Porto Venere Melges 20 regatta

Richard Davies on Section 16 along with tactician Chris Rast and crew member Manuel Modena are the Porto Venere Melges 20 Sailing Series Champions this year.

Rast and Modena are new to the Section 16 team, but not so new to success in the Melges classes, in particular the Melges 24. Rast is the reigning Melges 24 World Champion. Modena won the 2005 Worlds on the bow alongside America's Cup veteran Jimmy Spithill.

The overcast, windy conditions clearly played to Davies' best advantage as his daily 2-1-2 performance sealed the deal on the first event of the 2016 Melges 20 Sailing Series.

Guido Miani's Out of Reach earned MVP of the event, bouncing back effectively from a couple of boat troubles to place second overall. Miani collected more bullets than anyone else this weekend - an impressive total of five out of the eight races completed.

Michael Illbruck's Pinta completed the podium positions placing third overall.

The 2016 Porto Venere Corinthian title went to Wilma Homann on Fantastichina! Homann rose to the occasion on Saturday and held her own through the final races on Sunday. Congratulations also to runner up Valerio Galati, the very cool named under-30.

The Melges 20 season continues on May 6-8 when the fleet moves on to Porto Ercole, Italy.