2026 Melges 24 U.S. National Championship at Grand Traverse Yacht Club - Day 2
by U.S. Melges 24 Class Association 16 Aug 01:19 UTC
August 14-16, 2026
A single light-air race reshuffled the leaderboard on Day Two of the Melges 24 U.S. Nationals, hosted by the Grand Traverse Yacht Club.
Sandy Askew's Flying Jenny captured the one and only daily race win, Laura Grondin's Dark Energy moved into the overall lead, and Lindsey Duda's Sin Duda! maintains control of the Corinthian Division. With the Open leaders tied, only eight points separating the top three and a discard set to activate if a sixth race is completed, the entire championship remains on the line heading into Sunday's finale.
Day Two of the 2026 Melges 24 U.S. National Championship belongs to Sandy Askew, Laura Grondin and Lindsey Duda. Askew won the day's only race aboard Flying Jenny, Grondin's Dark Energy moved into the overall championship lead, and Duda maintained control of the Corinthian Division aboard Sin Duda!.
In what is believed to be a first in Melges 24 Class history, women ended the day holding all three of the championship's most prominent positions: race winner, overall leader and Corinthian leader.
The day presented an entirely different Grand Traverse Bay from the one that produced four spectacular races on Friday. Racing opened under an onshore postponement as teams waited for the breeze to develop. Once the fleet was sent to the racecourse, an additional postponement followed before Race Committee found a narrow window to complete Race Five in a light and tricky six to seven knots.
Askew's Flying Jenny made the most of it.
In conditions that demanded patience, precision and the ability to capitalize on every available patch of pressure, Flying Jenny crossed the finish line first. Grondin followed in second aboard Dark Energy, with Peter McClennen's Gamecock finishing third, Michael Goldfarb's WarCanoe fourth and defending U.S. National Champion Cuyler Morris' Dark Horse in fifth.
One race was all it took to transform the championship picture.
After five races, Grondin leads the standings on countback over Morris, tied at 21 points each. Askew's victory elevated her Flying Jenny team—Robert Greenhalgh, Alex Gough, Sean O'Rourke and Drew Barnes to third, while McClennen's third-place finish moved Gamecock into fourth overall. Peter Duncan's Shiitake slipped to fifth, and overnight leader Bora Gulari at the helm of Mavi had a tough day, dropping back to eighth overall.
The dramatic movement demonstrated just how consequential one race can be in a fleet this deep. With no discard currently in play, every score remains on the board. Should a sixth race be completed Sunday, each team will be permitted to exclude its worst result, creating the potential for another major leaderboard transformation before the championship is decided.
Grondin was visibly delighted following racing and clearly proud of the performance delivered by her Dark Energy team that includes Taylor Canfield, Ted Hackney, Tomas Dietrich and Erik Shampain. After two dramatically different days on Grand Traverse Bay, her enthusiasm reflected a program enjoying both the competition and the chance to race at the front of this championship fleet.
On the Corinthian side, the leaders held their ground despite plenty of movement behind them. Duda remains in first, followed closely by Eddie Gary's Troublemaker. Gary finished four places ahead of Duda in Race Five, closing the points gap ever so slightly.
Fred Rozelle delivered the standout Corinthian performance of the day, driving Rustler to an exceptional sixth-place finish overall. The result elevated Rozelle from fifth to third in the all-amateur standings.
Jaime Torres' Smile and Wave also improved his position in the developing title fight, moving ahead of Duane Yoslov's Looper and into fourth place. Looper now sits fifth leaving a sizable gap, room to move, between first and fifth going into Sunday's final stretch of racing.
Race Committee considered attempting a second race, but the conditions failed to offer enough stability for another fair contest, the decision was made to send the fleet ashore.
Five races are now complete, but the title remains completely unsettled. The Open leaders are tied, only eight points separate the top three, and the Corinthian battle remains equally vulnerable to one exceptional, or costly result.
Racing concludes Sunday on Grand Traverse Bay, with the start moved one hour earlier. After two dramatically different days, the only certainty is that the entire championship remains on the line.
Preliminary Open Results after Day 2: (top ten, 5 races)
1.) Laura Grondin, Dark Energy - 21 pts
2.) Cuyler Morris, Dark Horse - 21 pts
3.) Sandra Askew, Flying Jenny - 29 pts
4.) Peter McClennen, Gamecock - 33 pts
5.) Peter Duncan, Shiitake - 40 pts
6.) Travis Odenbach, Big Cat - 42 pts
7.) Steven Boho, The 300 - 47 pts
8.) Bora Gulari, Mavi - 50 pts
9.) Andrew Picel, Takeoff - 51 pts
10.) Alex Korakis, Boogieman - 52 pts
Preliminary Corinthian Results after Day 2: (top ten, 5 races)
1.) Lindsey Duda, Sin Duda! - 76 pts
2.) Eddie Gary, Troublemaker - 80 pts
3.) Fred Roselle, Rustler - 87 pts
4.) Jaime Torres, Smile and Wave - 96 pts
5.) Duane Yoslov, Looper - 100 pts
6.) Rob Terry, Kraken - 103 pts
7.) Mike Dow, Flying Toaster - 106 pts
8.) Kent Sisk, Pulse - 121 pts
9.) Mark Snyder, Honcho - 137 pts
10.) Marty Jensen, ZigZag - 140.5 pts