An impressive fleet of 31 Melges 24s has so far registered for the Gill Melges 24 World Championship 2014, to be in Geelong, Australia, from the 27th January to 2nd February 2014. Many of these same teams will test the waters and their stamina for back-to-back events when they contest the Australian Open Nationals that will be held as part of the Festival of Sails immediately prior, 23rd - 27th January. "When we started work on the 2014 world's project two and a half years ago, given the distance the overseas teams would have to travel the big question was 'who would come?," said Warwick Rooklyn. "To have six nations at the national championship as part of the Festival of Sails prior to the main event is also very satisfying, Outside of Europe I don't think many classes can say they've achieved such a result." Countries represented on the world championship starter's list include; Germany, USA, America, Finland, Hungry, Japan, Italy, Canada and of course Australia. Melges 24 class officials don't just officiate. Once the organising is put to bed, Riccardo Simoneschi, Chairman of the International Melges 24 Class Association (IMCA) will be racing Audi (ITA-840), and defending Melges 24 North American Champion and Australian class president, Warwick Rooklyn racing Bandit (AUS-814), will join their classmates on the track. Reigning Melges 24 world champion, Brian Porter and his Full Throttle racing team are absent from the line-up. Runner-up at San Francisco last October, Flavio Favini, the Italian skipper of Swiss entry Blu Moon (SUI-825), is heading to the Southern Hemisphere to fulfill his ambition to be world number one.