Pat Hughes’s Melvin wins the A Scow National Championship

Minnetonka, Minn. (June 23-25, 2017) — Pat Hughes and the Melvin team were crowned A Scow National Champions. Hughes put up an impressive 13 points over six races at the championship hosted by the Minnetonka Yacht Club. Sailing on the Melvin (M-21) alongside Hughes was Harry Melges, Coye Harrett, Tony Jewett, Chris Jewett, Matt Ripkey and Mark ‘Doctor’ Christensen.

Vincent Porter and the Eagle (I-1) finished the regatta on a high note, winning both races on the final day. His two race wins squeezed him a notch higher on the leaderboard, landing the Eagle team in second place overall with 21 points. With 22 points, Tom Whowell’s G Force (I-12) helmed by the young R.J. Porter took third place. Rounding out the top five were Mike Keefe’s Ajax and Tom Freytag’s MadCap.

“We had a great three days with unbelievable conditions and a great group of people.” said Hughes, “This win is really good for our youth program here. It’s a big deal to win the championship on your own lake at your own yacht club; it’s very encouraging to these young local sailors.”

Minnetonka Yacht Club pulled out all the stops for the national championship. Lighthouse Island and the surrounding waters of Lake Minnetonka proved to be the perfect battleground.

Spectators came from all around to watch the mighty A Scows duke it out. Twenty of these 38-foot yachts raced in the event. Melges A Scows are built by Melges Performance Sailboats in Zenda, Wisconsin USA. With six or seven crew, the A Scow is the fastest and largest of the Melges Scow family. Nothing compares to its century of heritage, delivering a combination of raw power, speed and performance unmatched in one-design sailing. A true classic, the A Scow is monumental to watch, not to mention powerful to race.

FULL RESULTS:

  1. Melvin, M-21, Patrick Hughes – 2 -1 -2 -1 -2 -5 ;13
    2. Eagle, I-1, Vincent Porter – 4 -5 -3 -7 -1 -1 ; 21
    3. G Force, I-12, R.J. Porter – 5 -3 -1 -2 -8 -3 ; 22
    4. Ajax, I-55, Mike Keefe – 6 -6 -10 -3 -6 -4 ; 35
    5. MadCap, I-7, Tom Freytag – 1 -4 -5 -22 -5 -2 ; 39
    6. Instigator, M-8, Judson Dayton – 8 -2 -7 -9 -7 -6 ; 39
    7. TypeA, W-3, William Crary – 15 -7 -6 -4 -4 -7 ; 43
    8. White Magic, I-96, Chuck Lamphere – 7 -8 -4 -6 -11 -9 ; 45
    9. Euphoria, W-25, Lee Alnes – 12 -12 -9 -5 -10 -14 ; 62
    10. Red Eye, I-333, David Davenport – 3 -17 -8 -22 -3 -12 ; 65
    11. Valkyrie, V-999, Todd Haines and Jim Klauser – 9 -9 -12 -10 -16 -11 ; 67
    12. Lucky, M-2, John Dennis – 22 -22 -11 -8 -9 -13 ; 85
    13. Asylum, W-88, Larry Pardee – 14 -13 -14 -11 -17 -16 ; 85
    14. Ship Of Fools, TO-1, Peter Johanson – 13 -16 -15 -22 -15 -8 ; 89
    15. Snitch, W-28, Ken Broen – 16 -18 -13 -12 -14 -17 ; 90
    16. Animal House, M-10, Jack Strothman – 18 -15 -16 -22 -12 -15 ; 98
    17. Amazinn, M-35, Carl Zinn – 10 -10 -22 -22 -22 -22 ; 108
    18. Encounter, M-64, Ronning- McDonagh – 19 -22 -22 -22 -13 -10 ; 108
    19. Cosmic Warrior, M-1, Rob Evans – 11 -11 -22 -22 -22 -22 ; 110
    20. Flying Wasp, V-0, Dave Decker – 17 -14 -22 -22 -22 -22 ; 119
    21. Fast Forward, V-57, Brian Henke – 22 -22 -22 -22 -22 -22 ; 132

bit.ly/2017AScowNationalsResults

Photographers:
Onne van der Wal: onne@vanderwal.com
Steve Bernstein, Power Play Action Images: steve.bernstein@me.com

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ABOUT THE MELGES A SCOW

Melges A Scows are built by Melges Performance Sailboats in Zenda, Wisconsin USA. With six to seven crew, the A Scow is the fastest and largest of the Melges Scow family. Nothing compares to its century of heritage, delivering a combination of raw power, speed and performance unmatched in one-design sailing. A true classic, the A Scow is monumental to watch, not to mention powerful to race.

ABOUT MELGES PERFORMANCE SAILBOATS

For more than 70 years, Melges has proudly delivered superior-built scows and sportboats around the world. Melges Performance Sailboats provides continuous customer service and product support unlike anyone else. Every Melges boat is signed, sealed, endorsed and delivered race ready by the best, for the best. For more information about Melges Performance Sailboats, visit melges.com.


Additional Reporting and Photos:

A Scow Nationals Day 1 Report, Photos and Results: conta.cc/2tYAVsx
A Scow Nationals Day 2 Report, Photos and Results: conta.cc/2u1RhAV

For more information on this news story, contact:

Hannah Noll, Melges Performance Sailboats, hannah@melges.com