M32 World Championship at Lake Garda, Italy - Day 3
by M32 Class 7 Sep 11:31 PDT
2-8 September 2024
On day three of the M32 World Championship the race area was shifted more to the centre of the Lake to give the teams new challenges and to create more opportunities for passing lanes. The top four teams separated by a point, YoungBlood with Miles Julien, Surge with Ryan McKillen, Rated X with Jake Julien and Extreme2 with Dan Cheresh kept the fight going with no team pulling ahead.
As the wind picked up and the race committee called for a reef, the reigning World Champions on Rated X showed their experience and managed to climb to the top of the leaderboard. They now sit with a lead of 6 points. That is not a safe margin going into the last day with another five races scheduled.
The fight for podium places is exciting as the fleet are very close on points. Race #10 winner Pursuit with skipper Bill Ruh says "We had a tough day yesterday, so we are pretty happy to have a more solid day today" and continues "Everyone is working hard to improve and you can see that on the race course." Consistent sailing by Dingbat, Bobby Julien, and Gravedigger, James Prendergast have them all staying in the fight.
The forecast for the last day is complicated with a rain front moving in later in the day. The teams will go out for an early morning start and the plan is to end the event in the northerly Peler. A wind direction that will, yet again, provide a new challenge for teams. Tomorrow is the ultimate point in the regatta and at the end of the day we will crown the 2025 M32 World Champions.
A large part of the M32 class is the social events and the relaxed camaraderie among the teams. Today was no different with the Fraglia Vela Riva treating the entire M32 family to a BBQ at the dock as sailors returned to the harbour. "I think that the party for Sunday night is looking pretty good" says Ryan McKillen of Surge going into the last day on 3rd place.
For more information visit m32world.com.