Melges 15 Summer Series
The Melges 15 Summer Series was a one-day event that brought together a deeply-talented fleet of local elite dinghy sailors. Sailing in SSA’s ‘Area A’ in Whitehall, the RC and sailors were greeted with perfect southerly of 10-14 kts with an ebb tide kicking up some steep chop which made downwinds a blast. With five races scheduled and zero discards, every race mattered, and the competition was fierce from start to finish.
I am very pleased to see that our little fleet produced 9 boats with the speed and expertise necessary to secure a race victory in this tightly contested event. The level of talent on display made it challenging to determine which teams to cover, as everyone had the potential to emerge as the ultimate winner.
After the first race, the RC moved the weather mark from 180 to 190 and left it there for the rest of the day. Shifts were small meaning speed was king. Sailing smart meant chasing pressure around the course, avoiding lulls, and finding lanes to drive your own waves. As someone who thrives in these conditions I was quickly humbled by the level of talent present.
After 5 races (no throw-outs), local rockstar Arthur Blodgett and supercrew Paloma Gutierrez took the win with 12 points in 5 races. Not bad considering it was their first time in the boat. Arthur/Paloma were closely followed by a tie for 2nd with top married couple, Britton and Heather Steele, winning the tiebreaker after winning the last 2 races to end the day. The Steeles edged out Sara Morgan Watters and her crew Kate Shermock (SMCM ‘24) who were the only all-female team. Beyond the podium, Alex and Lorie Stout won the hotly-contested “Stout-wars” by beating their son (yours truly) and Mason Cook by two points. Side note: Britton and Heather won an equally competitive subdivision of “Steele-Wars” by beating his parents Ron and Bonnie Steele
Special shout out to Henry Filter/Sandy Westphal who were tearing it up after a brief hiatus from the boat. Thank you SSA race committee members and PRO, Barb Vosbury. They made the most of a shortened regatta format to give us 5 high-quality races. Special thank you to Marlene Plumlee, Chris Chadwick/Tom Murray, Alex and Lorie Stout who helped contribute everything we needed for us to get Arthur/Paloma’s a boat to sail. Also want to give a shout out to everyone who sailed their first M15 event including: Arthur Blodgett, Paloma Gutierrez, Kate Shermock, Mason Cook, and Prag Katta! We hope to see all of you out there again!
Thank you everyone for a wonderful weekend!
Bryan Stout
SSA M15 Fleet Captain
