In the Press

7-5-2015

2015 Melges 24 World Championship: R/P’s M24 Still Has It After All These Years

July 5, 2015

Middelfart, Denmark (July 5, 2015) – Swiss-American sailor Christopher Rast and his EFG team secured the title today at the 2015 Melges 24 World Championship. Following their brilliant performance with three bullets yesterday, Rast’s team posted a 7-2-1 in the 95-boat fleet, sufficient after 12 races to secure first place without needing to sail in the final two races.

“It was an amazing week here in Middelfart with such a great fleet in a relaxing place,” said Rast. “I’m obviously really happy about our title: we had some good starts and I sailed with a really solid crew. Franco Rossini’s Blu Moon brought me in to this incredible class ten years ago. I fell in love with this boat, which has a design that is still competitive and modern after twenty [two] years. And to be here celebrating the Worlds’ victory, sounds unforgettable.”

Penalty Box ProductionsDay 511401187_1035642539813205_7897023058324967376_o
Tõnu Tõniste and his crew on Lenny, which finished sixth overall, took the victory in Corinthian division with a 19 point margin over Kicker Schäfer’s Musto Racing (GER) ending on the second level of the podium and Øyvind Jahre’s Storm Capital Sail Racing (NOR) as the third. “We had a really high level competition here in Middelfart in the very tricky conditions over the week. We would have liked to have one strong winds’ day here, but it did not happen. The battle for the title of the Corinthian division was really interesting until the end as the top podium places were swopped every day. We managed to win two races and I’m really happy about my crew who made it happen with me.”

2015 Melges 24 World Championship was organized by Match Racing Denmark in collaboration with the International Melges 24 Class Association and Middeflart Sailing Club. Eighteen nations were represented: Austria (3), Czech Republic (1), Denmark (17), Estonia (2), Finland (2), Great Britain (3), Germany (18), Hungary (2), Italy (5), Lichtenstein (1), Netherlands (5), Norway (18), Slovenia (1), Switzerland (4), Slovak Republic (1), Sweden (9), Ukraine (2) and United States of America (1).

2016 Melges 24 World Championship will be in Miami, U.S. between November and December.

About the Melges 24
Designed by Reichel/Pugh in 1992 and first launched in 1993, nearly 900 boats have been produced by Melges Peformance Yachts since. The Melges 24 remains the premier monohull sportboat boasting a class filled with Olympians, and both Professional and Corinthian sailors. 95 boats and approximately 500 athletes competed at the 2015 World Championship.

2015 Melges 24 World Championship Format
A maximum of 14 races scheduled for June 30-July 5, with up to three races per day. Five (5) races required to be completed to constitute the championship. When fewer than six (6) races have been completed, a boat’s series score will be the total of her race scores. When from six (6) to twelve (12) races have been completed, a boat’s series score will be the total of her scores excluding her worst score. When thirteen (13) or more races have been completed, a boat’s series score will be the total of her race scores excluding her two worst scores.

The professional and Corinthian crews will race against each other in a single fleet for the overall Melges 24 World Championship title, with the Corinthian results being extracted to determine the winner of the Corinthian World Championship title. Fifty-six out of ninety-five teams will fight for the Corinthian (non-professionals allowed) World Champion’ Trophy which comes from Australia.

Final Interview with World Champion Chris Rast
2015 Melges 24 World Championship Highlights
Day 6 Compilation
Results
Event Details
Entry List
Fleet Interviews on Facebook
Live Stream Archive

Source: Event Media

Featured Image © Penalty Box Productions
Photos of Chris Rast and Team EFG © Mick Anderson and Pierrick Contin

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