Light Air Lottery on Day Two of Midwinter

SARASOTA, FL (March 27, 2021): The Melges 15s had bluebird conditions for Day Two of the Midwinter Championship in Sarasota, FL.

Race Four had event leader Dwight Greenhouse leading wire to wire in 6-8 knots. Finn Burdick and Jim Gluek were able to work their way through the congestion to clear air securing a second and third respectively. 

After nearly untouchable performances in Races 5-8, Winter Series frontrunner Emily Haig is back in the top three. “The first race was more of a learning curve and allowed us to reset after yesterday,” said Haig. On several occasions, Haig was able to get ahead and extend her lead through to the finish. She added, “When it’s light, it’s way easier to extend than to get out of the pack when everyone is really good.”

As the wind continued to oscillate more southeast throughout the day, the pressure increased for the final races. Young James O’Gwen with crew Aidan Cunningham were in the hunt after shifting gears for Races 7 and 8. O’Gwen was hot on Haig’s trail giving her a run for her money in the second upwind of Race 7. It wasn’t until the final downwind dash to the finish that O’Gwen was able to slip past for his first bullet of the event.

“As the day went on, we got a bit more relaxed with everything instead of fixating on making every right move,” explained Cunningham. “We focused on starting on the favored end and staying on the lifted tack. You had to leverage that to keep yourself between the fleet and the mark.”

Conor Hayes is in Sarasota for his first Melges 15 event this weekend. “A buddy of mine bought a [Melges 15] earlier this winter. A couple days after he sailed the February event, he called me to let me know about the charter boats,” said Hayes. “He said you’d love this, and you should do it. I said ‘Yes, it looks awesome.’ And, it is!” 

Looking ahead to Day Three, Hayes concluded, “If we can get more downwind rides tomorrow like we had Day One, you can’t beat that. There aren’t a whole lot of things on this earth that are more fun than ripping downwind at 15-18 knots. If we can’t get that, then let’s keep the good sailing going.”

The 2021 Winter Series comes to a close on Sunday, March 28. Coverage will continue on the Melges Facebook and Instagram with daily galleries and recaps posted to melges15.com.