First Palma and then Porto Cervo, Inga from Sweden is taking the Melges 40 class by storm. The team has won the first two regattas in the Melges 40 Grand Prix, with world-renowned sailor and North Sails expert Cameron Appleton calling tactics for the team. Richard Goransson, owner of Inga was quick to praise Appleton for his efforts. “This regatta has been Cameron’s regatta,” remarked Richard. “Cam called all the right moves.”
For Cameron, winning the second Grand Prix event meant being successful in executing Inga’s game plan, limiting their losses, and staying focused to capitalize on other’s mistakes. The week in Porto Cervo saw the team picking up trends, within the fleet and the weather, and also trusting their teamwork.
Cameron checked in with North Sails HQ after landing back in his hometown of Newport, Rhode Island earlier this week. Read on for his perspective on this event and the exciting Melges 40 class.
On the Melges 40:
“The Melges 40 is a new and developing class, just five boats right now. The boat is unique; it has a canting keel, and is a slightly different concept. It’s a step in a little bit of a different direction, more Grand Prix than traditional one-design classes. The boats are fantastic; they perform well, and across varying conditions. Events like Porto Cervo help to showcase the class and, hopefully, encourage new people to join the fleet.“
On Inga:
“We has some dream races in the wind when the Mistral kicked up. We had our windiest sailing day to date, but had to fight for every inch to win races. Everything is new, and we are developing our skills and knowledge of the Melges 40 as we move through the season. The team is still learning this boat, and my focus was to keep the boat balanced in the good conditions and keep the boat ripping.“
On Sails:
“North 3Di RAW is featured on two boats in the fleet; Inga and Alessandro Rombelli’s Stig. Giovanni Cassinari and Marco Capitani have been instrumental behind the Melges 40 sail designs. Christian Kamp and I work closely with the designers to collect feedback from the water and incorporated that into each generation of sails. We have seen good speed across a range of conditions, even though extremely light is not Inga’s strength. We’ll get a new delivery of sails in August, designed specifically for the conditions we expect to see for the remainder of this season.“
On What’s Next:
“The Melges 40 Grand Prix 3 in Palma early August. For Inga, our goal is to try and stay up on the leaderboard. We have a great crew, we’re handing the boat well, and the team dynamics are working right now. And I think that’s showing in our results.“
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