Even sailors who have committed in advance to another campaign traditionally take some time away from the sport after the Olympics. The question is usually how much time is needed to refresh the batteries without getting too stale. Decades ago these hiatuses were measured in years. Now it’s more likely to be weeks or months.

The British duo of Ben Saxton and Nicola Groves finished ninth at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the doublehanded Nacra 17 catamaran and then took the rest of the year off. They got back into the boat for the first time a few weeks ago and officially started their campaign for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the 2017 World Series Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella.

The first day of racing had more than its share of bumps in the road, including two double-digit finishes and a race they were forced to retire from after sailing the wrong course.

Day 2 was a different story.

“We sailed well, we’ve got to be happy with a third and a first when we haven’t been in the boat for about five months since the Games,” said Saxton. “We feel a bit rusty compared to the guys that have been training though the autumn. Some of these guys are a little bit slicker than us. I think it’ll set us up well to be here. I can understand why other people aren’t here. But I’m happy to be here. I love racing and I love sailing so why wouldn’t you be in Miami racing.”

The four-point day was the best among the 17-boat fleet and moved them right into contention for the overall lead. They are currently fourth, six points behind Lorenzo Bressani and Caterina Marianna Banti (ITA) and Tom Phipps and Nicola Boniface (GBR) who are tied on points for first.

@Jesus Renedo / Sailing Energy / World Sailing

Nico Delle-Karth and Laura Schöfegger (AUT) are in third. Both are experienced skiff sailors—Delle-Karth finished fourth in the 2012 London Olympic Games in the 49er class and has competed in three other Games—but are new to each other and the speedy catamaran. They finished today with a second and a fourth.

“I am really surprised by our performance today,” said Delle-Karth. “Laura did an excellent job and considering it was our 12th [day] together and on the Nacra, we are more than happy.”

The top American team of Riley Gibbs and 2016 Rio Olympian Louisa Chafee also had a solid day. A fourth and a sixth was good enough to move them into seventh place, with 25 points.

“Today was definitely a pretty good day,” said Gibbs. “We’ve only been in the boat for nine days together, though we have some other things going for us. It’s awesome to sail with Louisa, who went to Rio 2016, and does a great job with the boat handling. And even though it’s my first Nacra 17 event, the tactics are pretty similar to the foiling kite racing that I’ve done. I’m just here trying this out, but the current plans to turn the Nacra into a foiling class are pretty appealing to me.”

Jorge Zarif (BRA), the defending champion in the Finn, is determined to hold on to his title. He scored a second and a first in today’s two race and, counting four points, leads the regatta by three points over Alican Kanyar, of Turkey, and Ben Cornish, of Great Britain. Luke Muller is the top American sailor, in sixth, with 20 points.

It wasn’t a great day for Martina Soffiati Grael and Kahena Kunze, of Brazil. But a second and a ninth, which is now their discard, was more than good enough to keep the pair in the lead of the 49erFX class. Standing on seven points, they have a six-point advantage over Victoria Travascio and Marina Branz of Argentina. Ragna and Maia Agerup (NOR) are third.

After opening the regatta with a 17th, Great Britain’s Dylan Fletcher-Scott and Stuart Bithell have rattled off four top-four finishes and now have a four-point lead over Yago and Klaus Lange of Argentina in the 49er. In third are Carl Sylvan and Marcus Anjemark (SWE).

It’s very tight at the top of the Laser with Jean Baptiste Bernaz (FRA) and Karl Martin Rammo (EST) tied for first with 12 points apiece. Nick Thompson, of Great Britain, is third with 15 points.

@Jesus Renedo / Sailing Energy / World Sailing

Evi Van Acker (BEL) put on a clinic for the Laser Radial fleet, winning both of today’s races. She’s the overall leader, after four races, with four points. Vasileia Karachaliou (GRE) is second with seven points. Erika Reineke, of the United States, had a strong day to surge into third, with 19 points. Behind her are five boats within six points of the podium.

Kiran Badloe (NED) continued his consistently excellent performance in the Men’s RS:X with a pair of second-place finishes and a first. He has eight points. Daniele Beneditti (ITA) is second with 15 points while Louis Giard (FRA) is third with 16.

Yunxiu Lu (CHN) was nearly untouchable today with a 2-1-2. She has 12 points, but has opened up an 11-point lead over second place Isobel Hamliton (GBR). Hei Man H V Chan (HKG) is in third, two points further back.

Pangiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis (GRE) finished second and then first in today’s races in the Men’s 470 fleet, and have moved into the lead. Mathias Schmid and Lukas Mähr (AUT) are in second, just a point behind.

In the Women’s 470 fleet, three teams are bunched at the top of the leaderboard within one point of one another. The Dutch team of Afrodite Zegers and Annaloes Van Veen are first with Bàrbara Cornudella Ravetllat and Sara López Ravetllat (ESP) tied on points with Sophie Weguelin and Eilidh McIntyre (GBR).

Racing continues tomorrow from Coconut Grove at 11 a.m. The Medal Races will be held on Saturday and Sunday starting at noon.

RESULTS / ENTRIES
A full list of sailors registered to sail in Miami is available to view here – http://manage2sail.com/en-US/eventonly/f61c409e-4fad-49a6-baa6-f9287b804645/style/worldcup#!/entries?classId=e2d355cc-1d5b-4dfb-b6b9-58c9d28c0cfa
Results will be available from Tuesday 24 January via the Manage2Sail results centre here – http://manage2sail.com/en-US/eventonly/f61c409e-4fad-49a6-baa6-f9287b804645/style/worldcup#!/results?classId=e2d355cc-1d5b-4dfb-b6b9-58c9d28c0cfa

TRACKING
Live tracking and competitor’s analytics will be available via SAP Sailing Analytics throughout the event here – https://swc2017-miami.sapsailing.com/gwt/Home.html#/event/:eventId=b82f9012-47d8-4e9e-b3b2-a690c1db0fe3

PRESS RELEASES
World Sailing will be releasing international press releases after racing throughout the duration of World Cup Miami. All the latest news and reports will be available to read here – http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/news/index.php

TELEVISION
Medal Races on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 January will be streamed live on World Sailing’s Facebook and YouTube Channel.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow the event on World Sailing’s social networks and get involved in the conversation using #SWCMiami17
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/SailingWCMiami/
Instagram – https://instagram.com/isafworldsailing/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/SailingWCMiami or https://twitter.com/worldsailing
Snapchat – Follow our Story on Snapchat, search for worldsailing