Full Throttle Up in Newport

by Joy Dunigan

John Porter on Full Throttle and team comprised of tactician Jonathan McKee, Andy Burdick, Fritz Lanzinger, sons Corbet and Vincent Porter along with Kelly McKenna and Matthew Woodsworth are 2010 Layline Oakcliff Northeast Regatta Champions. Porter finished the event a solid six points ahead of heavy opposition. Long-time Melges 32 owner Kip Meadows on roXanne with Andy Horton on tactics really came on strong Saturday to complete the regatta in second.

Enough can’t be said about the incredible progress made by third place finisher, Newport’s own Michael Dominguez on Bronco with experienced tactician Anthony Kotoun.
As mentioned in the preview release, Dominguez officially, yet apprehensively entered the fleet in December ’09 at the Gold Cup. He knew the competition was stiff. Over the last seven months, tremendous strides have been made by this very competitive team. A fourth place finish at the East Coast Championship showed that they are growing fast. "It's all starting to come together," was a frequent comment heard from several of Dominguez’s crew over the course of the weekend.

Last evening, the Melges Rocks party took place with the fleets jamming into the late evening hours at Riptide to the sounds of Chelley of the Ravers, free beer and great camaraderie! Special thanks to Melges USA for bringing this amazing party to Newport!

Heavy fog and no breeze kicked off Sunday, the final day of racing. The fleet went into immediate postponement for more than an hour with hopes that it would burn off quickly and racing could resume. PRO Tom Duggan was optimistic early on, however around 1p.m. racing was abandoned due to the uncooperative conditions.

An event such as Northeast Regatta never happens without the unwavering dedication and input from many individuals, excellent host sailing club volunteers and countless hours of organizing. The International Melges 32 Class (IM32CA) would specifically like to recognize the hard work and passion of U.S. Melges 24 NE District Governor Cary Siegler, Regatta Co-Chair J.C. Raby and, especially Anthony Kotoun for all their efforts. Most especially to Kim Cooper at Sail Newport and awesome PRO Tom Duggan and committee for the incredible race management.

Top Five Results (FINAL)
1.) John Porter/Jonathan Mckee, Full Throttle; 1-3-4-6-1-[10] = 15
2.) Kip Meadows/Andy Horton, roXanne; 4-5-[10]-3-2-7 = 21
3.) Michael Dominguez/Anthony Kotoun, Bronco; 3-7-7-2-7-[14] = 26
4.) Jim Swartz/Gavin Brady, Q; 10-1-6-1-9-[11] = 27
5.) Jeff Ecklund/Bill Hardesty, STAR; 8-9-[14]-5-3-2 = 27

Melges 32