On A Roll

As
the Mumms dwindle into irrelevance, the Melges 32 continues to win the
hearts and minds of the high-performance keelboat world. This weekend,
former Mumm 30 World Champion Claudio Recchi aboard Uka Uka Racing clinched
the Audi Melges 32 series championship in Italy with Gabrielle Benussi
as tactician. You might remember Lorenzo Santini’s Uka Uka from their
recent win at the Melges 24 World Championship – clearly these guys
have the formula for sportboat racing (see
video here).

As the Mumms get put away after a disappointing Worlds season in the
US, the 32s are just kicking in, with a big name, big money circuit
coming together for the ’08 – ’09 season. Organizers of the Lauderdale
Yacht Club Gold Cup – the first event of the circuit –
say they expect up to 30 boats, including the cream of the Mumm and
Farr 40 crop like Mescalzone Latino, Joe Fly, Calvi, and Pinta. With
transportation costs of larger, fixed-keel boats quickly growing out
of hand, the 32 seems like it may have hit the market just right –
has there ever been a fleet that was so quickly loaded with top programs
and world-class talent before?