MIAMI (Feb. 2, 2025) — Ryan McKillen’s Surge ran the table in Miami for the second edition of the 2025 M32 Miami Winter Series. With tactician Taylor Canfield calling the shots, McKillen’s team—including Luke Payne, Sam Loughborough, and new addition Stewart Dodson—started the weekend with a perfect picket fence scoreline: 1,1,1,1,1.
Eyes on the Prize:
“We’re pumped to start the season on a high note,” says Canfield. And the goal? “A World Championship win. That’s the one,” he answered with lightning speed.
“We’ve been in this fleet a long time: We want to win the Worlds,” said McKillen. Their Miami win was a statement. The goal isn’t just event wins this year—the big picture is the M32 World Championship this fall in Miami.
Surge’s Miami Masterclass:
Asked about their advantage on the race course, Canfield confidently pointed at their starts. “We got off the line really well all day on Friday, and that led to our success. We led around the reach mark probably 10-11 times this weekend [out of 14 races], which is a pretty big number.” McKillen added, ”In this fleet, it’s all about consistency.”
Part of that consistency comes from their data-driven approach. “[Coach] Morgan Trubovich is pushing us. We’re analyzing every moment of the race, making small tweaks. And enough small tweaks add up to big gains.”
Surge’s winning formula? Strong starts, smart adjustments, and a skipper on the rise. “This week Ryan did the best I’ve seen him do yet, which was really cool,” said Canfield. “You can see him growing, and the wheels turning all the time to just be better in his role.”
Bill Ruh’s Pursuit and Don Wilson’s Convexity went head-to-head for the final podium spots, with overnight leader Pursuit fending off a hard-charging Convexity on the final day.
For the second event in a row, while other Biscayne Bay pro circuits struggled to complete races, the M32 fleet fired off nearly 15. The M32 Race Committee team, led by PRO Carol Ewing this weekend, stays similar from event to event, giving teams a consistently top quality experience.
A new entry from Germany is climbing the learning curve at record speed. Led by Olympic medalist Erik Heil, the ‘German Shepherds’ are a squad stacked with talent—Stuart Bithell, Jonathan Knottnerus-Meyer, Felix van den Hövel, James Wierzbowski, and Anna Barth.
Saturday night, the Wilson family welcomed all eight teams to their Biscayne Bay home for a celebration honoring Don & Ava Wilson’s birthdays.
Hats off to Shake-A-Leg Miami, which hosts four M32 Winter Series events annually—plus the M32 World Championship this fall. The M32 fleet is proud to call Shake-A-Leg its winter home and consistently supports the nonprofit with its mission to Launch Boats & Dreams, especially for individuals with disabilities.
RESULTS
CREW LIST
| Convexity Don Wilson Ava Wilson Adam Minoprio Kinley Fowler Ted Hackney Rated X Charlie Julien Keith Swinton Rhys Mara Jeff McCooey Julius Hallström | TUUCI CY Thompson Nevin Snow John Wallace Tom Loughborough C.T. Olander Surge Ryan McKillen Taylor Canfield Stewart Dodson Luke Payne Sam Loughborough | German Shepherds Erik Heil Stuart Bithell Jonathan Knottnerus-Meyer Felix van den Hövel James Wierzbowski Dingbat Bobby Julien Tom Burton Ed Powys Will Tiller Lewis Brake | Pursuit Bill Ruh Ricky McGarvie Chris Steele Charlie Smythe Max Salminen Young Blood Miles Julien Carlos Robles Bernardo Freitas Dan Morris Moritz Spitzhauer |
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The International M32 Class Association is the fleet’s global governing body, dedicated to promoting and fostering competitive, high-performance, one-design racing across the globe in the Marstrom 32 catamaran. Comprising a worldwide community of passionate sailors, the Class is committed to upholding the standards of excellence, sportsmanship, and camaraderie. The Class organizes and sanctions regattas including regional and world championships. We encourage fair competition and foster a global network of M32 sailors united by their shared love for high-performance multihull racing. The Class is always welcoming new owners: Demo boats are available for charter at each event. For more information about M32 World, the boat, and regattas, please visit M32World.com.
Media Credits
Hannah Lee Noll · Story, Photos, Videos
