Sailing World Cup Miami - Day 5
by Daniel Smith, World Sailing 30 Jan 2016 06:49 GMT
25-30 January 2016
British and Canadian sailors seal Paralympic Medals
Great Britain's 2.4mR sailor Helena Lucas and the Canadian Sonar team led by Paul Tingley snapped up gold in their respective fleets as Paralympic racing concluded at Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella.
Tingley and his team of Logan Campbell and Scott Lutes wrapped up gold with a race to spare after a strong series of races. Meanwhile, Lucas asserted herself in the 2.4mR with a trio of victories that ensured she took her first gold at World Cup Miami after five previous attempts.
Lucas had a shaky start, retiring from the first race of the series, but came back dominant, winning seven of ten races over the week.
A perfect final day of three race victories sealed her fate as she ended well clear of Bruce Millar from Canada in silver and USA's Charles Rosenfield in bronze.
"It's been a really good regatta," said Lucas. "We have had some great winds and some good conditions in different directions. It's made it a good regatta and we had 20 knots yesterday so it's been great. Miami is always a really nice one to win so it's great to start 2016 off with a win."
Lucas won gold at the London 2012 Paralympic Games and was the first British athlete in any sport to be selected for Rio 2016. No one has been able to defend the 2.4mR gold medal at the Paralympic Games but Lucas has a full schedule this year as she attempts to do exactly that.
"This is a good stepping stone for my preparations in September. It's busy from now on until the Paralympic Games. I have some stuff planned in the UK in February and then from March onwards I will be at the World Cup and EUROSAF events. It's a busy calendar from now on."
In a Paralympic year, sailors are looking to peak and lay down a marker in the build up regattas. Those winning medals now, will be winning medals in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Canadian Sonar team came off the water buoyed by their performance over a strong pack of racers. Their week featured three consecutive race wins midway through that put them in a good spot leading into the final day that featured three races.
A third and a fourth in the opening two was enough to seal gold and with the pressure off they completed the regatta with a seventh.
"It feels like the work is starting to pay off," explained Tingley, a Beijing 2008 2.4mR gold medallist. "We are committed to the process and it takes time as a team. We have worked hard on our communication and as a result, we executed really well this week.
"The very best in the world are here and we beat the best. Gold is the reassurance we needed going into Rio."
Australia's Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden took second followed by Bruno Jourdren, Eric Flageul and Nicolas Vimont-Vicary (FRA).
Paralympic racers have a relatively quiet period before a full on period in April and May that includes Sailing World Cup Hyeres and Weymouth & Portland as well as the Para World Sailing Championships in Medemblik, the Netherlands.
From 11:00 (EST), 16:00 (UTC) on Saturday 30 January, the Medal Races from Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella will be broadcast live on the World Sailing TV YouTube channel as well as ESPN3 in the USA and on the YachtsandYachting.com homepage.
Seven races will be broadcast live from the northern racing area on Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida, USA. The schedule in EST is available below:
NORTH COURSE - LIVE
11:10 - Nacra 17
11:45 - Laser Radial
12:30 - Finn
13:10 - 470 Men
13:50 - Laser
14:30 - 49er
15:05 - 49erFX
SOUTH COURSE
11:40 - 470 Women
12:20 - RS:X Women
12:55 - RS:X Men
Rio 2016 spots decided at Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella
Ten nations in North and South America have qualified sailors for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Sailing Competition as fleet racing at Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella came to a close.
Sailing World Cup Miami acted as an Olympic qualifier for all ten of the Olympic classes for North and South America with 22 nations across both regions sending sailors with one aim, to book their spot at Rio 2016.
After the Santander 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships and the 2015 Class World Championships, Sailing World Cup Miami was the last chance for sailors to qualify.
The following nations have qualified in the following classes:
470 Men
North – Canada
South – Chile
470 Women
North – Canada
South – Chile
49er
North – USA
South - Chile
49erFX
North – USA
South – Chile
Nacra 17
North – Canada
South – Uruguay
Laser
North – Mexico
South – Venezuela
Laser Radial
North – Bermuda
South – Peru
Finn
North – Canada
South – Argentina
RS:X Men
North – Canada and USA
South – Venezuela and Colombia
RS:X Women
North – Canada
South – Argentina
Scene set for Saturday's Live Medal Races
The sun shone for the penultimate day of racing at Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella as the scene set itself for Saturday's live Medal Races.
Following a week of grey skies, the sun finally made an appearance as Paralympic racing came to a close and fleet racing across the ten Olympic fleets concluded.
Sailors were treated to a northerly breeze that started up at 12 knots to enable the fleets to get underway on time. Every fleet, minus the RS:X's, had an extra race added to their schedule to catch up on those lost over the week.
Dog fights played out across the fleets as the 711 athletes from 64 nations fought tooth and nail for the podium spots, a place in the Medal Race and for sailors from North and South American, a Rio 2016 Olympic Games berth.
49er and 49erFX
Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL) defended their title in the 49erFX with a day to spare.
They held a firm advantage before the final fleet race and in true style, they won it by a huge margin handing them a 30 point lead that can not be touched in the Medal Race.
"We're pretty happy to come away with a win this week," explained Meech. "We haven't looked at the results this week so we are kind of surprised. Last year we came away with a win in Miami so it's nice to do it again."
Maloney and Meech won the inaugural 2013 49erFX World Championships and whilst they remained in the top bunch of racers last year, they were off the heights they were used to. Meech continued, "We had a pretty up and down season in 2015 so it's nice to start this one off on top again so hopefully we can continue.
"We've had a pretty good summer back home in New Zealand and then coming over here we've felt fresh. We've been working on a few things and it's another step forward for us."
The interviewer of Meech had the privilege to break the news to the young Kiwi and after obtaining the quotes the news was broken to Maloney.
Keeping her professional head Maloney said, "Ahh nice, but it's before the protest time so we'll have to wait to make sure. It's been great though, we kept it at one race at a time and just had fun."
As the clock ticked onto 18:55, no protests had been received so their gold was confirmed.
Lisa Ericson and Hanna Klinga (SWE) and Jena Mai Hansen and Katja Salskov-Iversen (DEN) are tied on 97 points in second.
Diego Botin and Iago Lopez (ESP) are poised to take the 49er title following four final gold fleet races. The Spaniards recorded a 2-3-17-9 scoreline and are 12 points clear of Portugal's Jorge Lima and Jose Costa.
In the past, Botin and Lopez have struggled in the gold fleet, fading down the pack after a strong qualifying series. They changed the trend in Miami remaining at the front of the pack to sustain their lead.
They have guaranteed themselves a medal but the colour will be decided on Saturday.
Sweden's Carl Sylvan and Marcus Anjemark hold the final podium position but five chasing teams have a chance to overthrow them in the Medal Race.
Men's and Women's 470
The breeze has been quite variable this week. But today was perhaps the most challenging day when it came to predicting what would happen to the wind speed and direction.
"It was very shifty with holes with no wind," said 470 skipper Panagiotis Mantis (GRE.) "Most of the fleet expected the wind to bend to the left because of the land, but the wind always going to the right."
Or to put it another way: "It was a hard day, there was a lot of randomness in the breeze," said Stu McNay (USA) a two-time Olympian. "You make your best guess at the first shift. Sometimes you get it right. Sometimes you get it wrong.
"Over the last couple of weeks we've had a number of days like this. But just because you know it's going to be random and chaotic doesn't mean you know how to deal with it."
McNay and partner David Hughes came out on the wrong side of a few shifts today, scoring a 12-1-13. Their worst race result coming into the day was a fifth. But the good news for McNay and Hughes was they were hardly alone among the top five. With the exception of Panagiotis and Pavlos Kagialis, who finished 2-6-2 on the day, every Men's 470 team in the regatta had at least one double-digit result.
The net result is that McNay and Hughes, Panagiotis and Kagialis, and Onan Barreiros and Juan Curbelo Cabrera (ESP) are all virtually tied going into tomorrow's medal race. And while the fourth-place boat, Matthias Schmid and Florian Reichstäder (AUT), is mathematically alive for a medal, it's really a battle between the top three to see what color bauble they take home after tomorrow's medal race.
Because all three are on equal footing entering the double-points race, there isn't really an opportunity to match race. Both Panagiotis and McNay were unequivocal in how they will approach tomorrow's race.
"Win the race," said Panagiotis. "That's it."
McNay added: "The other guys who are leading are quite good and we will need to be at our best, just as they will try to be at their best. Too much variability [to try to match race at the start], first you have to look forward."
The Austrian team of Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar has been the steadiest performer in the Women's 470 fleet and that consistently has given them a slight, 4-point advantage going into the medal race. Today, in conditions that caused a few of their chief rivals to falter, Vadlau and Ogar were solid, with a 4-5-1. Fernanda Oliveira and Ana Luiza Barbachan have led the reagatta since winning both opening races. But a black flag disqualification in Race 8 and an 8th in Race 10 dropped them to second, one point in front of Shash Chen and Haiyan Gao (CHN). Marina Gellego and Fatima Reyes (ESP) are fourth. Sydney Bolger and Carly Shevitz are fifth, mathematically alive for a silver medal, but only barely.
Finn
Through five races the top six Finn sailors had been in virtual lockstep in the standings. Three races today finally put some daylight between them. Emerging from the fray was Jorge Zarif (BRA), who currently leads the regatta with 34 points, and Jonas Hoegh-Christensen (DEN), who is second, two points back. Those two will enter the medal race in a virtual tie since the race is worth double points and also counts as the tiebreaker in case two sailors finish with the same point total. While they have a slight edge over the third- through sixth-placed sailors, the emphasis is on the word "slight". Caleb Paine (USA) is third with 40 points, followed by Jake Lilley (AUS) with 43 points, Arkadiy Kistanov (RUS) with 44 and Zach Railey (USA) with 45. Given the right set of circumstances—and the forecasted light breeze could certainly provide enough variability—anyone of the top six could find themselves atop the heap at the end of tomorrow. An interesting subplot to the medal race will be the battle between Paine and Railey as this is the first of two regatta that comprise the selection series for the U.S. Olympic Team in Rio. The selection series format counts each regatta as a single result and each will be pushing hard to start the second half of the series with the upper hand.
Laser & Laser Radial
Marit Bouwmeester's string of firsts was broken today. But the Dutch champion still sailed well enough to assure herself of at least a silver medal in the regatta. She will start the medal race with a 6-point lead over Evi van Acker (BEL), who has also locked up at least a silver medal. To claim the championship van Acker will need to put two boats between herself and Bouwmeester in tomorrow's medal race. A tough ask, but certainly not impossible, especially considering the caliber of the fleet. Sarah Gunni Toftedal (DEN) is currently third, with an eight-point advantage over Tuula Tenkanen (FIN) in fourth. Alison Young (GBR) and Emma Plasschaert (BEL) both have an outside chance at the bronze medal. In 10th place is Paige Railey (USA), who moved into the medal race after her best day of the regatta. This gives Railey at least 7-place advantage over Erika Reineke (USA), her primary rival for the U.S. Olympic Team. She has the enviable position of entering the medal race with nothing to lose. Any places she gains will add to her advantage in the selection series. But she cannot finish any worse than 10th.
More error-free sailing from Jean-Baptiste Bernaz (FRA) and Robert Scheidt (BRA) has put those two sailors into a virtual first-place tie going into the medal race. After dominating the qualifying series, Rutger van Schaardenburg (NED) faltered slightly today, and is now third, though within easy striking distance of the lead and with a 12-point cushion over fourth. Among the top 10 sailors are four New Zealanders, which could create a bit of a happy conundrum for that country's Olympic selection committee. Charlie Buckingham, the top U.S. Laser sailor, was 16th in the regatta. He will start the second half of the U.S. selection series with an eight-place lead over Erik Bowers, who finished 24th.
Men's and Women's RS:X
The ball is in Bryony Shaw's (GBR) court in the Women's RS:X as she holds an 11 point advantage over Lilian de Geus (NED).
De Geus had led since day one but when it mattered most, Shaw used all of her experience to pounce, overtake and extend. Shaw had the better of De Geus in all three races. Two fourths and a bullet compared to a pair of nines and a second allowed Shaw to grab the lead and she goes into the Medal Race 11 points clear.
China's Peina Chen occupies the final podium position on 55 points and has Flavia Tartaglini (ITA) for company six points behind.
Dutch London 2012 Olympic gold medallist Dorian van Rijsselberge has a firm grip of top spot in the Men's RS:X. The indomitable Dutchman has remained in the top five all week and Friday's racing was no different as he posted a 3-1-3. He leads compatriot, training partner and good friend Kiran Badloe by 15 points.
Nick Dempsey (GBR), three points off Badloe has a mathematical chance at gold but he will be looking to consolidate more so than attack in the Medal Race with Aichen Wang (CHN) and Pawel Tarnowski (POL) one and two points behind.
Nacra 17
It will be a three way shootout for the Nacra 17 honours with the top three teams holding unassailable advantages over the fourth placed team.
Eight points separate the top three in what has been a high scoring week in the Nacra 17 with every team surpassing 100 net points.
Australia's Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin have remained the most consistent racers over the 15-race series. Going into the Medal Race the Australians have a six point advantage over Switzerland's Matias Buhler and Nathalie Brugger.
Mandy Mulder and Coen de Koning (NED) of the Netherlands remain in contention, eight points off the Australians so it will all be to play for on Saturday.
The race wins were shared across the Medal Race qualifiers on Friday with the Swiss picking up the first bullet of the day. Iker Martinez and Julia Roman (ESP), Santiago Lange and Cecillia Carranza Saroli (ARG) and Great Britain's Ben Saxton and Nicola Groves followed up with a bullet apiece and will sail on Saturday.
Racing commences at 11:00 on Saturday 30 January where the medals will be decided.
www.sailing.org/worldcup/results/index.php
Gold in the bag for Maloney and Meech (from Jodie Bakewell-White, Yachting New Zealand)
New Zealand's 49erFX sailing crew of Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech have gold in the bag at 2016 ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, after using the penultimate day of the regatta to open up an unassailable 30 point lead.
Tomorrow the pair must sail their top ten medal race, but even last place will be good enough. The result will mean a successful Miami title defence for Maloney and Meech, having won this same event in January 2015.
They sailed three races today opening with an 18th place. The average result clearly spurred the pair who went on to place 2nd and then 1st in the subsequent two races, propelling them into the enviable un-beatable position.
"We're pretty happy to come away with a win this week," explained Meech. "We haven't looked at the results this week so we are kind of surprised. Last year we came away with a win in Miami so it's nice to do it again."
Meech continued, "We had a pretty up and down season in 2015 so it's nice to start this one off on top again so hopefully we can continue."
"We've had a pretty good summer back home in New Zealand and then coming over here we've felt fresh. We've been working on a few things and it's another step forward for us."
Meanwhile in the Laser class New Zealand is very well represented with all four kiwi single-handed men making the cut for the top ten medal race.
What a difference a day can make though, as they jostle positions amongst themselves. Sam Meech has lifted to be the best placed of the kiwis in 4th overall; on 63 points he has a big, but not impossible, challenge to close the 12 point gap for a podium placing.
Thomas Saunders cracked out a race win today and has jumped to 5th, another 13 points adrift of fellow Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat club-mate Meech. Mike Bullot sailed well today and breaks into the top ten as a result. He goes into tomorrow's medal race lying 8th.
Rounding out the kiwi contingent in the Laser class is Andy Maloney lying 9th after today.
Elsewhere moments of brilliance came from two of our 49er crews both Markus Somerville and Josh Porebski, and Isaac McHardie and Trent Rippey taking a race win apiece today.
In the Nacra 17 NZL Sailing Team's Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders failed to gain ground on the fleet today and have missed out on the medal race cut. They wrap up this regatta in 14th place.
Silver medal for Sonar Team, five Australian Sailing crews advance to Medal Races (from Cora Zillich, Australian Sailing)
Australian Sailing Team's Colin Harrison (WA), Jonathan Harris (NSW) and Russell Boaden (WA) have wrapped up their first international regatta of the year with a silver medal in the Paralympic Sonar class. Nine months out from the Paralympic Games in Rio the team is looking strong after having finished on the podium at every international regatta since the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
While the Paralympic boat classes finished in Miami on Friday, 29 January 2016 local time, it was the last day of fleet racing in the Olympic classes with five Australian Sailing crews advancing to the Medal races on Saturday, January 30, 2016 local time.
Jason Waterhouse (NSW) and Lisa Darmanin (NSW) continue to be the top ranked Australian crew and will wear the yellow leaders jersey into the final Nacra 17 medal race.
Nathan Outteridge (NSW) and Iain Jensen (NSW) climbed up into fifth on the last day of Gold fleet racing in the 49er and teammates David Gilmour (WA) and Lewis Brake (QLD) will go into the final day ranked seventh.
Jake Lilley (QLD) advanced to the medal race in the Finn class in fourth, while Matt Wearn (WA) completes the Australian contingent in the medal races with a seventh place in the Laser.
Medal Races on Saturday 30 January local time will bring the Sailing World Cup Miami to a close with races to be broadcast live on the YachtsandYachting.com homepage.
Paralympic class – Sonar
The silver medal for Australian Sailing Team's Sonar crew of Colin Harrison (WA), Jonathan Harris (NSW) and Russell Boaden (WA) wraps up a couple of eventful months for Australian Sailing's Paralympic sailors including the Para World Sailing Championships and the Sailing World Cup Melbourne in December.
The silver medal adds to a string of successful regattas with the team having finished on the podium at every event since the London 2012 Paralympic Games and after winning World Championship silver and World Cup gold in December.
"It was a tough week with tight racing and close finishes, but to come away with a silver is a great result. With such close racing it's great to stay up the front and on the podium," Colin Harrison said.
The team posted a strong 2-2-3 series on the final day, which moved them up into the Silver spot.
The Sonar was won by Canada with France following in third and World Champion Great Britain in fourth.
And looking ahead Colin added, "following on from Miami it's important to keep to the front end of the fleet and just to keep looking for ways to improve ourselves, to get better on the race track and making smarter decisions."
Paralympic racers have a relatively quiet period before it gets busy again in April and May with the Sailing World Cups Hyeres and Weymouth & Portland as well as the Para World Sailing Championships in Medemblik, the Netherlands.
Nacra 17
It will be a three way shootout for the Nacra 17 honours with the top three teams holding unassailable advantages over the fourth placed team.
Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin successfully defended the yellow leaders jersey on the last day of fleet racing and have a medal secured going into Saturday's medal race.
Eight points separate the top three in what has been a high scoring week in the Nacra 17 with every team surpassing 100 net points.
Australia's Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin have remained the most consistent racers over the 15-race series. Going into the Medal Race the Australians have a six point advantage over Switzerland's Matias Buhler and Nathalie Brugger.
"Such a tricky day today! Miami was throwing everything at us, which meant a lot of tacking especially for a catamaran", Lisa Darmanin said. "There was a lot of picking the right thing to do and it helped if luck was on your side. Obviously we're happy to be leading going into medal race and we can't lose a medal, we just want to make sure it's the right colour."
Australian Sailing Squad's Euan McNicol (NSW) and Lucinda Whitty (NSW) finish the regatta in 24th.
49er
After jumping up the ranks and into the top ten on his birthday on Thursday (local time), Nathan Outteridge and crew Iain Jensen continued the upward trend on the last day of Gold fleet racing posting a 3-10-8-13 series which moved them into sixth place ahead of the final Medal Race.
Teammates David Gilmour (WA) and Lewis Brake (QLD), who were the top ranked Australian Team throughout the week, also qualified for the medal race ranked seventh after a 13-22-6-7 series.
Australian Sailing's third crew of Queenslanders Joel Turner and Tom Siganto started the last day of fleet racing strongly by posting a fourth and seventh place, followed by a 26th and 23rd. This moved them up four places to finish the regatta in 24th in the 61-boat fleet.
49erFX
In the women's skiff Haylee Outteridge (NSW) and Olympic silver medallist Nina Curtis (NSW) just missed out of the medal race ranked 13th but finished their first international regatta back together as the highest ranked 49erFX crew.
"The last day here was pretty difficult. It was really shifty and the breeze was coming sort of out of the buildings in the city. Also, the breeze was dying, which made it quite tricky with a couple of races abandoned and postponed because of huge wind shifts.
We didn't have quite as good a day as we had hoped but everyone's results were quite mixed.
This event was our first taste of where we sit internationally. We didn't really know where we'd be coming into this. But we're really happy with how we're going and racing against some of the best in the world here. That's been quite exciting for us."
Olympic silver medallist Olivia Price (NSW) and crew Eliza Solly (VIC) started the last day of fleet racing strongly with a tenth place, followed by a 21st and 26th to finish the regatta in 28th.
"It was really tricky today and a whole bunch of shifts going on and a whole lot of pressure changes. We struggled in a bit in the lighter stuff, handling unknown equipment. We were just trying to figure out throughout the day what sort of settings to use and what would be the most beneficial way to go," Olivia Price said.
Australian Sailing Squad's third 49erFX crew of Tess Lloyd (VIC) and Caitlin Elks (WA) finished the regatta in 23rd.
Laser
In the Laser, World #1 Tom Burton missed out of the top-ten medal race after a challenging last day with a high-score series of 18-26-27. This saw him drop from eighth to 13th and thus outside the medal race ranks.
"I finished a day earlier than I would have liked and in 13th. The day was super tough, pretty shifty and nothing really went right. The last few events have been a little like that for me, which is a frustrating and it's hard to link things together. So it's back to the drawing board I think."
Teammate and World #2 Matt Wearn also had an up and down day, which started with a black flag, but recovered with a third and eleventh place. This qualified the Western Australian for the medal race in seventh.
"It was a tricky day with a north westerly and three races. The first race was a bit more stressful than I was hoping. But at the end of the day I finished off with a three and eleven, which sees me through to the medal race, which I'm happy about and the points are pretty close," Matt Wearn said.
Finn
Australian Sailing's Finn sailor Jake Lilley (QLD) goes into the medal race ranked fourth after a sixth, second and 18th in the last three races.
470M/W
Both Australian Sailing men and women 470 crews competing at Miami missed out of the medal race after finishing the regatta in 13th and 14th respectively.
In the Women's 470 Carrie Smith (WA) and Jaime Ryan (QLD) had an up and down event but finished the last two races with a top five result in the 18-boat fleet.
They will be aiming to build on this for the 470 World Championships coming up in Argentina at the end of February (20-27 February 2016).
"The week was tricky for us and we learnt a lot. We've been trying to work on a few different things including our starting and it showed in our results that we were pushing them pretty hard," Carrie Smith said.
But we made some really big gains in the areas we wanted to improve in, while in the fleet and racing against the best, including the current World Champions. It was a bit of a mix in the fleet but the good guys who were here are definitely the best in our fleet and it was great to be racing against them."
"We had a few experiences that we needed to have. And now it's about putting those together for the regattas, which will really count for us and our long term goals versus our short term goals here in Miami."
The pair only recently qualified for the Australian Sailing Team after finishing ninth at the 470 World Champs in Israel at the end of October last year. They also qualified the boat class for Rio at the World Champs and are aiming for selection over the next few months.
In the men's 470 Australian Sailing Squad's youngsters from Victoria Tom Klemens and Tim Hannah kicked-off the regatta strongly with a third place, but had to settle with a 13th in the 21 boat fleet in the end. They will also compete at the World Championships in Argentina next.
World Champions and World #1 Mat Belcher (QLD) and Will Ryan (QLD), who have already been selected on to the Olympic Team, did not contest Miami, but will start their 2016 international season at the 470 World Championships in Argentina.