2026 Melges 24 US Nationals Regatta Results and Report

The Melges 24 fleet came together August 14–16 at Grand Traverse Yacht Club in Traverse City, Michigan, for the Melges 24 Nationals, with 46 boats competing across eight races.

Overall Results:

Cuyler Morris and the Dark Horse team came out on top of the fleet with 21 points, putting together a remarkably consistent series to claim the national championship. Sailing with Morris were Alec Anderson, Mark Ivey, Charlie Smythe, and Manu Weiller.

Dark Horse opened the championship with an eighth-place finish before settling into the top five, posting a 2-4-2-5-4-1-3 run over the remaining races. Their two race wins, in Races 4 and 7, helped secure the overall victory, while their eighth-place finish was discarded.

2025 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Laura Grondin and Dark Energy finished second overall with 25 points. Dark Energy won Race 2 and recorded six finishes in the top nine, with an 11th in Race 3 serving as its discard.

Peter Duncan’s Shiitake rounded out the podium with 28 points. After opening the championship with a race win, Shiitake added another victory in Race 6, along with second- and third-place finishes. A 21st-place finish in Race 5 became the team’s discard.

Sandy Askew’s Flying Jenny finished fourth with 34 points, closing the championship with a win in the final race. Flying Jenny also won Race 5.

Rounding out the overall top five was Peter McClennen’s Gamecock, which finished with 36 points. Gamecock recorded four top-three finishes, including second-place finishes in Races 6 and 8.

Behind the leaders, Bora Gulari’s Mavi finished sixth overall after taking back-to-back race wins in Races 3 and 4.

Corinthian Fleet:

The Corinthian division was led by Edward Gary’s Troublemaker, which finished 13th overall with 87 points. Lindsey Duda’s Sin Duda! took second in the Corinthian fleet and finished 15th overall with 100 points.

Rob Terry’s Kraken finished third Corinthian and 16th overall with 119 points, while Mike Dow’s Flying Toasterfinished fourth Corinthian and 17th overall, also with 119 points. Jaime Torres’ Smile and Wave rounded out the Corinthian top five, finishing 18th overall with 130 points.

The full 46-boat results are available HERE.

Credits for the incredible photos are to Anna Suslova. Find her full photo album HERE.