Pieter Taselaar’s Bliksem Wins
2009 Melges 32 World Championship
September 23-27, 2009
Porto Cervo, Italy
Pieter Taselaar’s Bliksem won the ultra-competitive 2009 Melges 32 World Championship held at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo, Italy September 23-27. After taking an early lead in the regatta, LYC-member Taselaar never looked back and wrapped up the championship with a race to spare. Jason Carroll’s Argo, with many other LYC members aboard, also had a strong event, claiming the fifth and final podium spot with a string of strong finishes at the end of the event.
Bliksem’s crew (with Taselaar in the middle) accepting their trophy
haul after winning the inaugural Melges 32 World Championship.
Photo by Molly Baxter
The Italians are passionate about yacht racing and they have warmly embraced the power, speed and simplicity of the Melges 32, making it a natural choice for the numerous professional Italian teams. The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda proved to be a beautiful venue and with the Farr 40 and Maxi Worlds already under their belt they were running on all cylinders for this regatta. Add in rock star Principal Race Officer Peter “Luigi” Reggio, and the stage was set for an intense and challenging regatta.
There was little room for error in the tight Melges 32 fleet.
Photo by Carlo Borlenghi
Bliksem entered the regatta as one of the favorites after winning two earlier events in Italy this summer, but challengers were thick on the ground including established teams like Claudio Recchi’s Team 93, Vincenzo Onorato’s Masclazone Latino, current Melges 24 World Champs Uka Uka Racing and Joe Fly from the Italian contingent as well as Jason Carroll’s LYC squad on Argo, Joe Wood’s Red from the U.K. and many other strong squads from Germany, Australia, the Czech Republic and France.
Argo focuses on finding a lane around the leeward mark.
Day 1 of the regatta featured 14-18 knots of breeze with a confused sea courtesy of an active storm off to the west. Team 93 would dominate the day with finishes of 1, 2 but Bliksem was not far behind after posting finishes of 6, 2. Bliksem showed great pace in both races, and with her awesome downwind speed was able to post good results after deep early mark roundings. Team Argo did not get off the line well but showed some good speed to post a steady 10, 10 in the 29-boat fleet.
Photo by Max Ranchi
Day 2 was what Melges 32 crews live for – big waves and breeze topping 20 knots in the day’s only race. Both LYC teams had solid finishes, with Bliksem claiming the win and Argo coming sixth. Good upwind speed and fast, controlled sailing on the hair raising runs were the keys to success. The downwind rides in the storm generated swell were something special. With Team 93 notching a second in the day’s only race, Bliksem stayed in second overall.
Day 3 brought three races as the Race Committee endeavored to get the regatta back on schedule. With medium air (12-15 knots), the fleet was much closer in speed and the racing was extremely tight. Team 93, Bliksem and Argo had tough days and the Italian Joe Fly and Uka Uka racing teams were resurgent, setting the stage for a pivotal day 4 of the regatta.
The Race Committee announced another three-race day and conditions were similar to day 3. The top four teams were tight going into the day and it proved to be quite a battle, with Team 93 and Bliksem trading paint before the day was done. Argo started her run for the podium, book ending a 19th (her throwout) with a pair of thirds, one of which came after the team was recalled at the start. The story of the regatta came at the windward mark in the last race of the day. Team 93, on the port layline of the windward mark where she was frequently found throughout the event, confronted Bliksem tight on the starboard layline and ultimately tacked too close on her lee bow, colliding with Taselaar’s team. Bliksem won the protest, and with it the regatta, as her consistent day 4 put her competition out of reach.
Though Bliksem team stayed ashore on the final day to celebrate and sleep off the early victory party, there were still minor placings in play in the tenth and final race of the series. A sunny but light air day greeted the fleet, with tricky shifts. After a mind-scrambling first beat, Argo was well placed, moving through the fleet to finish the race and regatta in fifth overall.
Jason Carroll’s team finished four of their final five races in the
top 6 to move into fifth overall.
Photo by Max Ranchi
Taselaar was pleased to become the first world champion in the Melges 32 class. “It was a very tough week; the other competitors were of a very high standard. We have been working hard for a year and a half now. You never know if it’s going to work but it would seem it has. I have a great team. We are absolutely delighted to have won this World Championship and there is absolutely no better place to do it than in Porto Cervo!”
Taselaar thanks his crew and the race committee at the awards
ceremony. Photo by Molly Baxter
Taselaar’s mixed U.S., Australian and Dutch crew included tacticians Jeremy & Nathan Wilmont, Michael Coxon, George Peet, Willam Van Waay, Alex Clegg and Paul Atkins. Argo had a majority LYC presence aboard, including owner and skipper Jason Carroll, tactician John Baxter, Molly Baxter (strategist), Chad Corning (main trim), Patrick Mauro (pit) and Dan Litchfield (jib/spinnaker trim).
Complete results are posted on the event website.
Jason Carroll (middle) and tactician John Baxter (right) accept
their trophies for fifth overall. Photo by Molly Baxter
Team Argo from left to right: Brian Fox, Dan Litchfield, Ben Bardwell,
Patrick Mauro, Molly Baxter, Chad Corning, Julie Howe, Jason Carroll
and John Baxter.
