INTERVIEW: DREW FREIDES, WINNER OF THE 2016 WORLD RANKING
PACIFIC YANKEE WINS THE 2016 MELGES 20 WORLD RANKING
Interview with Drew Freides
The final rankings for the 2016 Melges 20 World Series have been announced and Drew Freides and his Pacific Yankee team finished the season as the top ranked team and are the series champions for 2016. Drew and his team culminated the 12 event series with a victory in this years final event which put the finishing touches on Pacific Yankee’s #1 ranking over seventy other teams in the series. Our team at North Sails is proud that Pacific Yankee, as well as the teams and boats that finished the season ranked 1,3,4,5,6, all chose to be powered by full North Sails inventories!
The Pacific Yankee team worked closely with North Sails expert Vince Brun to make sure the team was learning all they could through a thoughtful sail development program to make Pacific Yankee go fast and be the best they could be. We got in touch with Drew and asked him the key factors to such a successful year:
Boat Setup
“From day one, Vince wanted us to focus on learning how to set up the boat correctly. With so many options for adjustments we developed a complete matrix with the boat & rig setup for every wind speed. Vince’s goal for us was not to have to think about how to make the boat go fast during racing and just focus on boat positioning as well as racing”.
Training
“We spent a lot of time on the water tuning and training, always with an open mind to try new things. We would see another team doing something different, and we would try it, often times going against standard logic. Some things worked, while other things didn’t, but we constantly learned from the experimentation and testing.”
Team
“We sailed all year with the same team. Charlie Smythe focused on boat setup, constant rig adjustment and overall boat speed, both upwind and down. Morgan Reeser worked with me on my driving as well as tactics and boat positioning vs the fleet and the race course”.
Sail Program
“We switched from the AP-6 mainsail to the new standard M-16 main from North which was the right direction. There is no question that North is recognized as offering the fastest sails by the majority of the Melges 20 fleet.”
Final Thoughts
“I seriously had chills running down my spine when I saw the results. I can’t believe we ended 2016 ranked #1in the World! I can’t thank you all enough!!!!!!! We did it. Now we just need to win a World Championship. Just before my mom passed away almost three years ago, she told me to buy this boat – she would never believe what we have accomplished. Thank you again for all of your commitment and hard work!!!!!!! I owe you guys!!!!!!!!”
Thank you Drew! Seeing sailors have fun and great success while learning to go faster is one of our favorite things to see at North Sails. Thanks for making our day and congratulations to you, Charlie, Morgan & Vince on a great year!
