Annapolis team extends lead

Annapolis professional Chris Larson extended his lead in the Sheehy Lexus of Annapolis Melges 24 World Championship by posting two more single-digit finishes on yesterday.

Larson steered his West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes entry to a sixth and a fourth on a cold, rainy day off Annapolis. Richard Clarke is calling tactics while fellow Canadians Mike Wolfs (trimmer) and Curtis Florence (bow) complete the crew for Larson, whose lead increased to 11 points over second place Joe Fly.

"We are coming off the line in good shape, finding clear lanes and getting around the course without making mistakes," Larson said. "We are sailing cleanly and consistently. I think if we can maintain this approach then we will be in good shape."

Larson hopes to tack on two more single-digit results today and achieve his stated goal of getting halfway through the six-day, 12-race regatta without posting the type of deep finish that would need to be tossed. Racing rules allow every team to throw out its worst result after six races.

"We are four races into a twelve race series and so far I've been successful with doing my job on the boat, which is to get us off the line cleanly. Richard Clarke has been doing a great job on tactics and the whole crew has been solid," Larson said.

Steady rain and winds that fluctuated between 8 and 12 knots enabled principal race officer Jeff Borland to get in two more races yesterday. Larson, who naturally has a ton of experience sailing on the Chesapeake Bay, was somewhat surprised the wind has not been as shifty as normal.

"The wind didn't really move about that much today, so much so in fact that in both races we were actually able to one-tack both first beats by simply hitting the left hand layline," Larson said.

Joe Fly, an Italian entry skippered by Gabrio Zandona, won Race 4 and also posted a third yesterday to move from ninth to second. Defending world champion UKA UKA Racing, another Italian team skippered by Flavio Favini, got the gun in Race 3 and added a second in Race 4 to jump from 16th to seventh.

Trimmer Federico Michetti did not hesitate when asked whether UKA UKA could complete the rally and capture the world crown for the second straight year.

"For sure we could. There are lots of teams in the top ten with poor scores. We definitely have no more room for mistakes and it will be very, very difficult. However, we like a good fight and of course will be trying to the very end," he said.

San Diego professional Bill Hardesty and his team aboard Event's Clothing/Atlantis also had a strong day on the water, moving from seventh to third in the overall standings on the strength of a second and a seventh.

"The breeze was up in the morning and died back a little this afternoon. We feel pretty comfortable in the breezier stuff, but the light winds have been a bit of a weakness for us so far," Hardesty said. "However, we think we may have found the extra gear that we have been looking for as we were able to hang on to the Italian boats a lot better in the second race."

Melges 24 World Championship

(51 boats)

1, West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes, Chris Larson, Annapolis, 5-2-6-4=17

2, Joe Fly, Gabrio Zandona, Italy, 6-18-3-1=28

3, Event's Clothing/Atlantis, Bill Hardesty, San Diego, 19-3-2-7=31

4, Full Throttle, Brian Porter, Lake Geneva, Wis., 2-12-5-12=31

5, Gullisara, Carlo Fracassoli, Italy, 9-1-10-13=33