Tag: Sailing World Cup Miami

Spectators Welcomed to Regatta Park’s Fan Zone

2017 Sailing World Cup Miami Presented by Sunbrella

MIAMI, Fla. (January 10, 2017) – Established in 1990 by US Sailing, Sailing World Cup Miami Presented by Sunbrella annually draws elite sailors, including Olympic and hopefuls from around the world. The regatta features high-level racing and often serves as a National Team or Olympic Team qualifier for many countries. The 28th edition of Sailing World Cup Miami – is set to return to Biscayne Bay for six days of racing on January 24-29, 2017.

Miami’s newest waterfront public space, Regatta Park in Coconut Grove, welcomes anyone interested in watching the racing or learning more about the sport of sailing to come to Regatta Park and participate in this unique, spectator-friendly experience. The Fan Zone will be broadcasting live action from Biscayne Bay on a large video display in Regatta Park on Friday, January 27 through Sunday, January 29. On Saturday and Sunday, you can also catch the final rounds of racing for each class and the champions’ celebrations broadcasting live as they return to shore. Food trucks are also expected to be on location.

Regatta Park in Miami. Photo by Golden Dusk Photography.

Regatta Park is located at 3400 Pan American Drive in Miami, Fla.

Sailing World Cup Miami Presented by Sunbrella is sponsored by Sunbrella, Beneteau, Jeanneau, Tuuci, City of Miami, Zhik, Harken, McLube, University of Miami, Sturgis Boatworks, Papa’s Pilar Rum, North Sails, Florida Sports Foundation and the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jake Fish, jakefish@ussailing.org, 401-683-3115

About US Sailing
The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and growth for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US Sailing offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the US Sailing Team. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.

Golden Moments Abound on Biscayne Bay

The tension on the water at Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella was fully loaded as Medal Races across the 10 Olympic fleets drew the first big regatta of 2016, the Olympic year, to a close.

Many podium finishers from six days of racing in Miami will feature on the Rio 2016 pedestal in 188 days’ time and Miami can be viewed as a marker of what is to come this year.

In a week plagued by grey skies and fickle breeze the sun shone brightly in Miami but the light winds remained.

Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL) came into the day as the only team who had gold wrapped up. In the remaining nine events it was wide open and in a shifty northern 6-8 knot breeze there were up, downs, disappointments and highs in their numbers.

Olympic medalists such as Robert Scheidt (BRA), Dorian Van Rijsselberge (NED), Evi Van Acker (BEL) and Bryony Shaw (GBR) showed their worth, taking the honors in their respective fleets. In the remaining divisions, several new contenders emerged including Diego Botin and Iago Lopez (ESP) and Mandy Mulder and Coen de Koning (NED) who won in world class fields.

Nacra 17

Mandy Mulder and Coen de Koning (NED) claimed gold in the Nacra 17, jumping up the leader board after a tense light wind Nacra 17 race.

The Dutch pair occupied third overall heading into the Medal Race with Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AUS) in pole position and Matias Buhler and Nathalie Brugger (SUI) in second.

Eight points split the trio beforehand with an unassailable advantage over the chasing pack. The sailors on the podium were decided, but the color of the medal they’d receive was far from certain.

The leading Australians were penalized at the start and were up against it immediately, crossing the start line well behind the pack. Meanwhile, the Dutch pair got underway without fear and worries as the only way for them was up.

Ben Saxton and Nicola Groves (GBR) ran away from the fleet to take the race win by a minute over Fernando Echavarri and Tara Pacheco (ESP).

The Dutch crossed the finish line third and had to watch the finishers to see if they’d moved up. Waterhouse and Darmanin crossed in seventh and the Swiss in ninth which gave them gold.

“Out there we used our speed well and we went to the left of the first upwind and it paid off,” explained Mulder. “We were leading at the top mark and consolidated. We ended up third which was enough for the regatta win.

“We were in a perfect position to go full on today and take some risks.”

Darmanin and Waterhouse ended up tied on 119 points with the Dutch but missed out via the Medal Race countback, settling for silver. Buhler and Brugger completed the Nacra 17 podium.

The Nacra 17 fleet will have to go through the emotions again in just a matter of days with the World Championships taking place in Clearwater, Fla., February 6 to 14.

Laser and Laser Radial

When regatta leader Marit Bouwmeester (NED) was flagged by the officials shortly after the start, it appeared Evi van Acker (BEL) had the opening she needed to close the 6-point gap that stood between her and a gold medal. Indeed, Bouwmeester was 10th around the first mark. But van Acker was ninth. These positions held around the second mark. On the third leg, van Acker made her move.

“I went on the right side when the wind was dying, but I thought change was coming,” said van Acker, the bronze medalist in the 2012 Olympics in London. “The wind turned to the right and I was there when it turned.”

Van Acker went from ninth to third on the second beat and then picked up another place on the final run. Meanwhile, Bouwmeester, who had so little trouble moving through the fleet earlier in the regatta, was unable to make any significant gains during the second half of the race. Van Acker’s second, to Bouwmeester’s’s seventh, was enough to flip flop the overall positions the two sailors held coming into the Medal Race.

Sarah Gunni Toftedal (DEN) struggled during the medal race and finished last. But none of her rivals for the bronze medal were able to take advantage of the situation and Gunni Toftedal held on to the bronze. Alison Young (GBR) was fourth, with Emma Plasschaert (BEL) in fifth.

Paige Railey (USA) won the medal race and while her move from 10th to eighth didn’t factor into the podium standings it did earn her two additional places in her battle for the U.S. Olympic berth in Rio. Her primary rival, Erika Reineke, finished 17th in the regatta and will have to make up 9 places on Railey in Part 2 of the U.S. Athlete Selection Series.

©Sailing Energy / Wolrd Sailing - Sailing World Cup Miami 2016Displaying a veteran’s poise, five-time Olympic medalist Robert Scheidt (BRA) sailed a steady medal race in trying conditions to win gold in the Sailing World Cup Miami. While the positions around him switched considerably over the course of the 25-minute race, Scheidt rounded each mark in fourth place and finished fourth.

“It was a tough race, the wind was light and shifty,” he said. “I was worrying about the French guy as he was the one I had to finish ahead of to win today. He got to the [first] mark ahead of me, which made things very interesting. At the gate we had a split, which was lucky for me as I finished ahead of him.

“I sailed well this week. The Medal Races are always tough and very close. The day has a huge impact on the result and I took my opportunities today.”

Jean Baptiste Bernaz (FRA), who made his international regatta debut the same year Scheidt won his third Olympic medal, started the day with a one-point lead in the overall standings. Though he didn’t win the gold, he can be comforted that he was just a place away from defeating one of the sport’s living legends. He’s clearly moving up the ladder and in good position to improve upon his 10th in the London Games.

Scheidt, though pleased with his results this week, knows the work of an Olympic sailor is never done. He’ll take some time to recoup, and then get right back to the grind.

“After this I am taking a break,” he said. “In March I will be back training in Rio. Rio is going to be quite a difficult venue with challenging conditions. I’ve sailed there for 25 years and I still don’t know the place. I’ll try and get myself comfortable with the place.”

Men’s and Women’s RS:X

Bryony Shaw (GBR) made a terrific comeback in the second upwind in the Women’s RS:X to seal her third consecutive Sailing World Cup Miami gold.

After the first lap of the course, Shaw was as low as ninth, leaving Lilian de Geus (NED) first overall. Shaw knew what had to be done and her never-say-die attitude enabled her to fight and push up the fleet.

On the final upwind Shaw swiftly moved into seventh, sixth and at the top mark had overtaken de Geus and was third overall. She maintained that position through to the finish to seal the deal.

“This week was about consistency,” said Shaw, a Beijing 2008 bronze medalist. “We had a lot of different winds this week so I was happy to sail well in the light winds and strong winds. The focus for more has been on training to prepare for the World Championships. We’ve had a really good quality fleet here so I am pleased to take the win today. It’s good momentum to take into the World Championships.”

De Geus wrapped up the week with silver and Peina Chen (CHN) completed the podium.

London 2012 Olympic gold medalist Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) started 2016, an Olympic year, with a big, convincing win in the Men’s RS:X.

Van Rijsselberge finished seventh in the Medal Race, his worst result this week, but his consistency over the series kept the pressure off him as he went in with a nice gap between him and the chasing pack.

“I like Miami and like racing here,” said Van Rijsselberge after competition. “I’ve been coming here for eight years now so I’ve got the place sorted and I enjoy racing here.”

Nick Dempsey won the Medal Race finishing six points off the Dutchman to pick up silver and Aichen Wang (CHN) rounded off the podium.

Finn

No class had more sailors enter the medal race with a shot at the gold. Six Finn sailors started the final contest with a legitimate shot at the medal. Adding to this was a light, shifty breeze that provided plenty of passing lanes. But when the dust had settled the top two sailors entering the race, Jorge Zarif (BRA) and Jonas Hoegh-Christensen, were the top two in the final results.

“It was really hard as everybody was really close before the race,” said Zarif. “I thought the left side of the racing area was paying a little bit more. I tried to be there more than the others and it worked well.”

Zarif held the lead around the first two marks, but dropped to fourth on third leg when a big left shift jumbled up the standings. On the fourth leg he ground back to second place, where he finished. Arkadiy Kistanov of Russia won the Medal Race and was able to vault from fifth to third in the overall standings. Jake Lilley (AUS) was fourth in the race and third in the overall standings.

For Zarif, who hadn’t previously won a World Cup race, this was a significant victory as he prepares to compete for the home crowd in Rio.

“Next we will have 15 days of training in Rio now with Rafa [Trujillo] my coach and then we go to the Europeans, Palma, Hyeres, the Worlds and then back to Rio,” said Zarif. “I was happy with the week I had, but I could have finished sixth or first today. That could have easily happened if something bad happened today. I just tried to do the best I could.”

Men’s and Women’s 470

For the Men’s 470 fleet, the crucial moment in the Medal Race came right at the starting gun. Stu McNay and David Hughes (USA), one of three teams that entered the race in a virtual tie for first, controlled the left end of the starting line and were able to tack at the gun and cross the fleet, putting themselves in a very strong position right out of the starting blocks.

“We saw an opportunity at the start and we were able to take advantage of it and get an early lead on the fleet,” said McNay, a two-time Olympian in the 470. “Dave called some great shifts on the first upwind.”

McNay and Hughes rounded the first mark with a 30-second lead over the fleet and never looked back, at least figuratively. In light conditions, no lead is ever truly safe.

“It was an easy race course to become frustrated with as it was very shifty and variable,” said Hughes. “By the same token, the teams that did well at this event just embraced it and played it forward from whatever position they were in. We are happy to better them all in the end.”

The most interesting battle of the race was for the silver medal, with Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis (GRE) and Onan Barreiros and Juan Curbelo Cabrera (ESP) rounding the first mark separated by just 4 seconds. On the second upwind leg the Greek duo was able to put over a minute on their rivals and all but clinch the silver medal. Jacob and Graeme Chaplin-Saunders finished second in the medal race and moved up a spot, to seventh, in the overall standings.

McNay and Hughes will hope to carry the momentum they earned in Miami this winter into the class’s world championships in Argentina in February.

“This is the third of three events in Miami this winter and we can proudly say we have won all three of them,” McNay said. “We felt that to do that many competitions back to back to back would be the best way to prepare ourselves for the upcoming World championships.”

Consider it a job well done, on to the next challenge.

“There are many events between now and Rio and we are just going to chip away at one event of a time,” said Hughes. “We’ve got lots to work on and as with any Olympic campaign there are a lot of different boxes to tick.”

Shasha Chen and Haiyan Gao (CHN) started the Medal Race much the way they started the regatta, in last place. The first race of the event, which might seem like it took place a month ago given the twists and turns of this event, resulted in a DSQ for the Chinese team. Likewise, the first leg of the Medal Race didn’t go well and Chen and Gao rounded the first mark in last place, 48 seconds off the lead and in real danger of missing the podium entirely.

But in the light and shifty conditions, persistence was the key; and passing opportunities were there for the taking. Chen and Gao found a few on each of the next three legs, moving to sixth on the first run and then to third on the final run. Meanwhile, their chief rivals for gold, Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar (AUT) and Fernanda Oliveira and Luiza Ana Barbachan (BRA) found the going much more challenging. With those teams finishing in eighth and 10th respectively, Chen and Gao claimed the gold medal, with the Austrians in second and the Brazilian team, which led for much of the regatta, in third.

49er and 49erFX

Diego Botin and Iago Lopez (ESP) ventured into the 49er Medal Race with a strong lead and as they came through in second, a convincing victory was signed, sealed and delivered.

Portugal’s Jorge Lima and Jose Costa had an outside chance of overthrowing the Spaniards but Lopez felt no worries as he explained, “For us we had to take control of the Portuguese guys today. We had a 12-point advantage so we wanted to control them with some tactics to win.

“We finished second, which was a really good result for us and we won. We’re really happy.”

Lima and Costa settled for silver and Carl P Sylvan and Marcus Anjemark (SWE) completed the podium.

Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL) had gold all sewn up before the Medal Race so the pressure was off.

The real battle in the 49erFX was for silver and bronze with Jena Mai Hansen and Katja Salskov-Iversen (DEN) and Lisa Ericson and Hanna Klinga (SWE) split by one point.

Hansen and Salskov Iversen were sublime in the Medal Race. Chased by the Swedes they did not let up. They led from the off and used their superior boat speed to pull away and claim a well deserved silver medal.

From now on, it’s full on to Rio 2016 with World Cups, World Championships and continental championships coming thick and fast before the flame is lit in Rio de Janeiro on 5 August 2016.

The 470s, 49er, 49erFX, Nacra 17 and RS:Xs will have to reset quickly with their World Championships taking place in February. The remaining fleets will hold theirs later on this year.

—Stuart Streuli, Sailing World Cup Miami, & Daniel Smith, World Sailing

Photo credits: Pedro Martinez & Jesus Renedo/Sailing Energy/World Sailing

The New Olympic Order

 
Were there any competitors in the ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, presented by Sunbrella, who remember a time before coach boats? Probably not. Coach boats, as in this coach’s village alongside the Schoonmaker Center at the Olympic Sailing Site, Miami?

coaches

Someday, perhaps, there will be sailors who don’t remember a time before the ISAF Sailing World Cup.

A game changer.

Here is your link to a class-by-class survey, wrapping up the Medals Race

World championships still matter, of course, and national championships, but this series takes the current Olympic format and delivers it to Olympic hopefuls on every participating continent, or close. This one counted for both North and South America.

Nacra photo by Walter Cooper

Nacra photo by Walter Cooper

Running a shoestring campaign in Australia? You probably sailed the recent Melbourne event even if you lack the budget for Miami in January or Hyères in April. Running a shoestring campaign in the USA? There’s Miami, which began as a US Sailing Olympic Classes Regatta, and then was folded into the larger tent.

An RS:X Medals Race start. Photo by Walter Cooper

An RS:X start. Photo by Walter Cooper

Want spirit? Get within half a mile of Paralympic sailing and you’ll recognize the kind of spirit you wish you could bottle and share with the world. Here is one of three Paralympic class winners.

Bjornar Erikstad, gold medalist, 2.4mR. Photo by Christina Delfino

Bjornar Erikstad, gold medalist, 2.4mR. Photo by Christina Delfino

Some of the most-alive people who ever limped, or rolled, down a dock.

Repeating your link to a class-by-class survey, wrapping up the Medals Race

 

ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami 2015, presented by Sunbrella, is sponsored by Beneteau, Jeanneau, Lagoon, Sperry Top-Sider, Chubb, and the City of Miami. Thank you to our supplying sponsors at Harken, McLube, Coral Reef Sailing Apparel, University of Miami Health System, Vetus-Maxwell, and Adventure Sports.

Numbers, Numbers, Numbers

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

Numbers are cruel.

At ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, presented by Sunbrella, 716 sailors came to compete in ten Olympic classes. Five days of qualifying races ended Friday. Now ten boats advance in each of those ten classes. Allowing for double-handed boats, that computes to 150 sailors on the water for the Medals Races on Saturday.  The other 566, all of them hopeful, all of them skilled, are free to go.

The Finns actually got two races sailed in winds down to 4 knots at times. A little heel to weather was in order.

Photo by Walter Cooper

Photo by Walter Cooper

The most bitter loss on Friday, of course, was to place 11th.

On Saturday, with three medals per class, make that fourth.

The Paralympic classes have completed their dance cards. They don’t sail a medals race. And it’s just possible that Norway’s Bjornar Erikstad is still grinning from Thursday’s race seven. That was the one where his two closest competitors, both leading him in the standings, were OCS (On Course Side, aka over early at the countdown to the starting signal) and he was “OSS” or – no, this one’s not in the official book – On Start Side. Where you want to be.

And then the wind dropped out.

And time ran out on completing the dance card. Erikstad was left right there. Stuck in gold.

Numbers are cruel. Timing is everything.

For a class by class summary, here is your link: http://www.sailing.org/news/39683.php

SAF Sailing World Cup Miami 2015, presented by Sunbrella, is sponsored by Beneteau, Jeanneau, Lagoon, Sperry Top-Sider, Chubb, and the City of Miami. Thank you to our supplying sponsors at Harken, McLube, Coral Reef Sailing Apparel, University of Miami Health System, Vetus-Maxwell, and Adventure Sports.

Where You See the Hill

 

Or, where you see the hill for how high the hill is.

Which would be along about now. After Day Four of five qualifying race days for the double-points Medals Race, there are those who can get to the top, those who might, and those who, thank you, gave the ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, presented by Sunbrella, their best shot.

Biscayne Bay is a January miracle. Not, perhaps, at its best in January, but so much better, bets are, than any other sailing venue in the Northern Hemisphere that would work for ten Olympic and three Paralympic classes.

Those who would be on the podium have been thoroughly tested here, all 768 of them from, now, representing 64 countries as we add Cuba to the list today. RS:X windsurfer Yuseily Gonzalez Luis arrived on Thursday evening to check in this morning for just one day of racing. But not just any day.

This is the biggest event of the year for US Sailing and a one-year-to-go proving ground for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. And today is the final day of qualifying for the double-points Medals Races tomorrow. You can read a class by class survey here of the situation as hopefuls do the math. What are their chances to make the ten-boats cutoff? To quote one gold medalist, “There’s a lot going on out there.”

ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami 2015, presented by Sunbrella, is sponsored by Beneteau, Jeanneau, Lagoon, Sperry Top-Sider, Chubb, and the City of Miami. Thank you to our supplying sponsors at Harken, McLube, Coral Reef Sailing Apparel, University of Miami Health System, Vetus-Maxwell, and Adventure Sports.

Spelling P E R S E V E R A N C E

 

 

When the challenges hurt your brain, when the world around you is cold and your body is catching up to that, when you’ve committed yourself to the obsessive quest for an Olympic medal and there are times when you wonder if you should have just had yourself committed — welcome to this world. And a beautiful world it is.

But it takes, perseverance.

Photo

Photo by Walter Cooper

Race day three at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami sapped something out of everybody. Competitors. Race officials. Volunteers. What it didn’t take out was character.

They’ll be back, every one, because they know themselves as “us.”

Photo by Walter Cooper

Photo by Walter Cooper

The day was windier than predicted, but not beyond numbers in the teens. The challenges came in the form of wrestling — and that’s barely a metaphor — with windshift after shift after shift, unrelenting, as you can read here, class by class, in Moguls? Moguls in the Wind?

Among the inspiring thoughts available in this group would be this from Great Britain’s Sophie Weguelin — inspiring to long-suffering parents everywhere, that is — that, “My first boat was a Mirror that my father built in Lymington. I hated it.”

But she’s here, a world class skipper and third in the Women’s 470 going into day four. Somehow, that came out all right.

And another thing. Sailing is the sport that all can share, even the severely disabled. All three Paralympic classes are racing here and among them, the winningest winner to date, in this regatta, is Australia’s Dan Fitzgibbon, with crew Liesl Tesch. However the regatta turns out, scores to this point of 1-DNS-4-1-1-3 ain’t bad. THESE are Skud 18s, and this is us . . .

skuds

what IS that secret sauce? (besides grit)

The difficulty of these races so far has done more than any number of easy wins could ever do to validate the reputations of a few people who keep themselves at the top of their fleets. Time after time. No matter what.

Walk a tightrope?

                      Dance . . .on a tightrope?

What is the secret sauce of the Finn dinghy that makes it happen that, again and again, there comes one man who owns his moment?

Start with Paul Elvstrom, who introduced the concept of sailor as athlete. In the Finn. Where he out-trained the competition and ground them down on those occasions when he couldn’t outsmart them.

Four Olympic gold medals, and it took a generation before Ben Ainslie could rack up a bigger medal count. In the Finn. Dominating. In a boat so physically demanding, the best way to describe it would be, say, the athletic equivalent of a horse race where you have to carry the horse part of the way.

At the moment, that man would be Giles Scott. He’s “riding on rails” as they say.

He doesn’t yet have the medal count . . .

But he owns the moment.

Elsewhere around ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, there are other shining examples of the control of chaos. Just, no one riding an 18-month winning streak to rival that of Giles Scott.

Here is a look through the fleet as we anticipate another day on Wednesday that should be much the same, but perhaps with a few knots more average breeze.

If the Chamber of Commerce had stayed up all night working at it, they could not have served up a better day for racing at ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, presented by Sunbrella.

The second day offered a steady diet of breeze in the teens, the allure of a sun-drenched Biscayne Bay, and the kinetic beauty of boats in ten Olympic and three Paralympic sailing classes being put to their best and highest purpose.

We’re still early in a regatta scheduled for six days of racing, including a Medal Race on Saturday for top-ten qualifiers. At stake are qualifying points and slots for the finale of the six-event international series that has become the proving ground of the would-be Olympic sailor.

The finale will take place in Abu Dhabi U.A.E. late in 2015, and after that –

After that, an athlete is either ready for Rio and the 2016 Olympic Games, or not.

Nacra 17

In their first trip to Miami, Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders (NZL) have brought their game faces.

The masters of control in the opening day’s big breeze backed up their bright start with a 1-2-7 to solidify their position at the top of the fleet.

Their secret in Monday’s madness, “Our advantage was to have a much taller and bigger crew on the wire as it was single trapezing,” explained Jones. “That was our advantage downwind but we sailed well upwind as well.”

With Jones at the helm and the 6’1″ Saunders in front of her, it proved to be a winning formula as she continued, “Yesterday we had pretty good speed, we didn’t have good starts but we took some pretty huge shifts upwind and that put us in a pretty good position round the top mark and then chipped away for the rest of the racing.”

The Kiwis have always been in the top group at Nacra 17 competitions but are yet to back it up with a podium finish. Whilst that may be in the back of their mind, with nine fleet races remaining ahead of Saturday’s Medal Race the Kiwis will be sticking to their usual pre-sail routine for Wednesday’s trio of races, “We’ll just start again, get a nice sleep in, cruise on down, check the boat is good and then launch an hour before racing. It’s a really high level fleet and the racing is really good.”

The day’s other race wins went the way of Renee Groeneveld and Steven Krol (NED) who are 11th overall and Ben Saxton and Nicola Groves, (GBR) who are seven points off the Kiwi leaders.

Laser Radial

With first starts in the afternoon, in decreasing winds, the two divisions of women sailing Laser Radials “hoped to get in three races,” said Ireland’s Annalise Murphy, “but we just ran out of time.”

Long shadows were spreading over the boat park at the Olympic Training Site as Murphy de-rigged. She described the day’s competition as, “Pretty difficult. Winds 5 to 15 and really shifty. We saw some 60-degree shifts, and that is rather stressful racing. If you’re leading, you can easily drop a lot of the fleet. If you’re behind, the lottery just might go your way.”

Murphy at 2-2-(5)-3 is presently second in the standings to Denmark’s Anne-Marie Rindom, 3-(5)-1-1. Belgium’s Evi Van Acker is third with scores of (7)-3-3-5. There are 79 Laser Radials, broken into two divisions.

“On a tricky day,” Murphy said, it feels good to get consistent, high finishes. A sixth and a fourth today qualify, and the fact is, the breeze is tricky but slightly predictable. If it goes hard left, it’s most likely to go back hard right. The question, is how long do you wait? “The thing is to go up the middle and don’t get locked out on either side.”

Laser

Brazil’s five-time Olympic medalist, Robert Scheidt, owned the course today along with Aussie Matthew Wearn. Sailing in separate divisions of the 107-boat fleet, each won a race.
After five races, Scheidt leads the standings with scores of 2-(4)-2-3-1. Wearn looks good to go the distance at (7)-7-1-1-2 and, being a Western Australian in his twenties, he naturally has a nickname. Try Wearn Dog.

Nick Thompson of Great Britain likewise looks good at 6-4-2-(10)-1, and behind Thompson comes Jean Baptiste-Bernaz, who has burned his throw-out with 37 points in race five.

49er FX

New Zealand’s Alex Maloney and Molly Meech were left somewhat disappointed as they returned ashore after four 49erFX races with a handy advantage at the top of the leader board.

For many a 2-2-5-9 scoreline would be a day of work well done. But for the Maloney, the ninth, which they discard, left her visibly frustrated, “We had a good downwind, gybing in pressure,” explained Maloney, “but I probably took it a little bit too far and gybed a bit too many times near the finish and we lost a few boats.

“It was a tricky out there, a head out of the boat type of day. We’ll learn from the mistakes we made today. Hopefully we’ll improve on that but all in all it was a pretty consistent day.”

The day prior the Kiwis were one of eight boats to complete the single 49erFX race in the big Miami breeze. With their nearest rivals counting hefty scores, the Kiwis are the only team with single digit scores and subsequently lead Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA) by 17 points.

That in mind, they’re still striving for me, “Tomorrow we are going to improve our starts by getting a good lane. If we do that, our results will improve,” concluded Maloney.

The day’s victories were spread four ways. Third placed Leonie Meyer and Elena Christine Stoffers (GER) claimed the opening win with Charlotte Dobson and Sophie Ainsworth (GBR), Jena Hansen and Katja Salskov-Iversen (DEN) and Ida Marie Nielsen and Marie Thusgaard Olsen (DEN) all claiming bullets.

49er

Consistency is king in sailing and after two days of racing, Diego Botin and Iago Lopez (ESP) are a fine example of that statement.

From six races they hold a trio of race wins, a pair of twos and a discarded eighth. Their score of seven points leaves them 14 clear of David Gilmour and Rhys Mara (AUS).

With six races down, 49er qualification is done and dusted. The top 29 teams now advance to gold fleet racing where the competition and fight for points will heat up.

Botin and Lopez’s advantage is a healthy one but as shown at the 2014 editions of World Cup Mallorca and Hyères, Botin struggles when it comes down to gold fleet racing. Only time will tell.

At the cut of mark Julien d’Ortoli and Noe Delpech (FRA), Yago Lange and Nicolas Aragones (ARG) and Canada’s Michael Brodeur and Daniel Inkpen all sneaked in to the gold fleet by a narrow two points.

Men’s RS:X

After the conclusion of the six race qualification series, there is very little separating the top Men’s RS:X sailors.

France’s Louis Giard holds on to his overnight lead but with three days of gold fleet racing ahead of him, he will be under no false pretences that the work is done. Eleven points split places first to eighth with Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED), defending Miami Champion Byron Kokkalanis (GRE) and Nick Dempsey (GBR) breathing down Giard’s neck.

One of the biggest smiles of the day on the race course came from youngster Mattia Camboni (ITA). The 2013 RS:X Youth World Champion put in a hard fought performance in the fifth race of the yellow fleet. Working his sail hard on the run to the finish the Italian stormed to the race victory ahead of Ricardo Santos (BRA) and Nimrod Mashich (ISR).

Women’s RS:X

Defending Miami Champion Bryony Shaw (GBR) showcased her skillset once again in the Miami sun, advancing to top spot following three top results. A fourth, a bullet and a fifth give her a one point advantage over Russia’s Olga Maslivets and a two point advantage over Lilian de Geus (NED).

The leading trio shared the race wins between them but it’s Shaw’s consistency that ultimately sees her top the billing.

Finn

Giles Scott stumbled all the way to fifth in race four, but that did not alter the Finn class story line. Britain’s gold medal hope, who has not lost a regatta in eighteen months, now has scores of 1-1-1-(5) and a lead of three points over Australian Jake Lilley-and Lilley has already used his throw-out.

Having come in as the obvious favourite, Scott is inevitably in the spotlight. But he’s a realist. “People ask me about my form,” he says. “It was great to go last year unbeaten, but, ultimately is kind of means nothing.”

Not when, really, it’s all about Rio, 2016.

At 2-3-(26)-1, Lilley is, yes, three points out of first, but those are a big three points, and another bad race would really hurt. Great Britain’s Ed Wright has been consistent at 3-(7)-6-6, but this is a unique fleet where, for the last 18 months, consistent high place finishes have not been enough.

The World Junior Champion is also faring well in his first year in senior competition. Anders Pedersen of Norway is fourth overall after a 4-9 day. He said, “Today’s racing was tough. It was very shifty and up and down in pressure. The first race for me was good. I had a good start and got the flow. The second was difficult. I lost the wind half way up the first beat, and got knocked out of rhythm. The rest of the race was a struggle to hang onto the fleet.”

As for the shift from Junior to a Senior, “The perspective hasn’t changed that much, really. My goal is to do well in the Olympics. It’s good to feel that I am fighting with ‘the big guys.’ ”

Forty boats. It’s lonely at the top.

Women’s 470

Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie came to Miami as favorites, and so far, they’re living the role. You have to love a pair who meld into Team Jolly. 420 class world champions and gold medalists for New Zealand in the 470 at the London Games in 2012, they are “on track for Rio” as either of them will tell you.

After two days in a fleet of 29, Team Jolly is sitting on scores of 2-2-1-(7) and a three-point lead over Great Britain’s Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark. Sophie Weguelin and Eilidh McIntire, also GBR, are another seven points back in a tight grouping with boats from Russia, Japan and Slovenia.

Mills and Clark are a case in point of what it takes to compete at this level, beyond the relentless physical training and hours and days and weeks in the boat. Mills has it that, “I would guess almost a fourth of our time is spent making up ropes, preparing and polishing the boat before any big regatta. And it’s not just our boat that needs the love. We make sure we have a spares bag made up with almost anything we can think of that we would be able to change or fix on the water, just in case. If we didn’t have spares on the water in the coach boat, we would have to go ashore to sort out problems. And miss races.”

At ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, that wouldn’t do.

Men’s 470

Panagiotis Mantis and crew Pavlos Kaglias of Greece lead the Men’s 470 standings, but the banana peel under their heel takes the form of a throw-out used in the opening race. They look good on scores of (25)-4-1-1 but cannot afford another bad result.

Two hungry teams are only one and two points back, respectively, and they could better afford a bad race in the coming days. Britain’s Luke Patience and Elliot Willis wrapped Tuesday with scores of 1-2-(5)-4 followed by Australian’s Mat Belcher and Will Ryan at 5-1-2-(12). Behind them, it’s an eight-point jump to fourth.

And why don’t they ever get the crew’s perspective?

They do. Roger Hudson would probably rather have had his talking moment on Monday, when he and his skipper, Jim “Squirrel” Asenathi, placed 4th and 6th – and it was Asenathi’s birthday. Two 13ths on Tuesday pulled the South African sailors down to 10th overall, but the experience jelled in Hudson’s analysis of the racecourse.

“The defining thing,” he said, “is that even though it’s breezy, it’s really on and off, with a lot of pressure differences. It’s quite light in patches, and the wind comes through in big blocks. There are huge gains to be made, and lots of position shifting. It’s like sailing in Greece, with the wind coming off the land, broken up by land features, and that’s maybe why the Greek guy won two races today.”

Countdown to ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami

 

Bigger than ever in 2015, with an atmosphere crackling with adrenaline, the ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami was ground zero on Sunday as competitors from 63 countries made their final preparations. US Sailing’s premiere event brings together a who’s who of Olympic and Paralympic talent. Six days of racing will test them and leave them judged. Australia’s silver-medalist 470 skipper of last year, Mat Belcher, summed up that experience by saying simply that being on that racecourse, with that fleet, “was essential.” Essential, that is, to anyone who hopes to be standing on a podium in Rio de Janeiro at the 2016 Olympic Games.

With as many as 800 sailors entered, the 26th year of this event sets a record for participation. The ISAF Sailing World Cup, presented by Sunbrella, is the only U.S. stop on the 2014-2015 SWC series. Melbourne, Australia kicked off the first of six events, with successful sailors earning qualification spots and ranking points toward a finale in Abu Dhabi late in 2015.

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2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami Notice of Race Released

The Notice of Race for ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, scheduled for January 25-31, 2015, has been released.

On-line entry will open on November 10, 2014 at mocr.ussailing.org. The deadline for priority entries with regards to quotas is December 5, 2014. Entries must be received no later than January 5, 2015 to qualify for early entry.

US Sailing’s premier event – the ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami – is set to return to Miami, Fla. for top-level Olympic and Paralympic class racing. The event is only North American regatta to be included in the International Sailing Federation’s (ISAF) 2014-15 Sailing World Cup series.

Competitors in the Paralympic events will have five days of fleet racing from Monday, January 26 to Friday, January 30. Medal Races across the ten OIympic events will bring the regatta to a close on Saturday, January 31 where medals will be awarded to the top three boats.

Event winners in each Olympic event from ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami will qualify for the 2015 SWC Final, while the best placed ‘home continent’ sailor will also qualify.

Regatta Headquarters will be located at the US Sailing Center Miami, an official Olympic training center, in Coconut Grove, Miami, Fla. Additional hosts for the event include Miami Rowing Club, Coconut Grove Sailing Club and Shake-a-Leg Miami. These sailing organizations host classes onshore, as well as help run the on-the-water racing. The Coral Reef Yacht Club hosts the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Continue reading

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