Archived News
"Hi-tech Media Coverage For 505 Worlds in Aarhus "NOR for ISAF Grade 1 Rolex Osprey Cup - Request for Invitations Now Open "USSDT's Erika Reineke Becomes Laser Radial Youth World Champion "Legends Signed Up For Skandia Sail for Gold "DeLisser Claims Her Second U.S. Jr Women's Singlehanded Championship "DeLisser Charges Into First Place at U.S. Jr. Women's Singlehanded Champs "Former Champions out in Front at U.S. Jr Women's Singlehanded Champs "Aussies Claim Gold In Holland at 470 Worlds "Optimist Team Race Day 1 Recap "Local Talent Comes Good At Worlds "US Youth World Team Wins Three Bronze Medals at Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship "Wind Up on Day Three of 470 World Championship "Whitman/Dorsett Win Silver at IFDS World Championship "Paige Railey, Mitchell Kiss Win Bronze Medals at Laser Radial Worlds "A Different Leader In Every Class, Day 1 Of The 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Champs "Anna Tunncliffe on Laser Radial Worlds: Tricky First Race in Gold Fleet "Tulloch Prevails Over Barkow in Thrilling U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship Final "Anna Tunnicliffe: Gearing For Laser Radial World Championships "Storck/Moore Report on 49er Europeans: 'Long, Hard First Day of Gold Fleet Racing' "Sail Sheboygan Welcomes Match Racing's Best at U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship "Storck/Moore Report: 49er Europeans in Gydnia, Poland "US Sailing Announces Selection Procedures for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials "Kristine Roug Appointed As Championship Coach For 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing World Champs "49er European Championship Underway in Gdynia "Team USA (Barking Mad & Bliksem) Finish 3rd in Sardinia Challenge Trophy "Close Finish At The Medal Races Of The RS:X Open Youth Europeans "USSDT's 29ers Set to Compete at Europeans "Mission Bay YC Duo Takes Home U.S. Jr. Women's Doublehanded Championship "Gilmour Wins Battle Of The Aussies At Portugal Match Cup "Italy and Great Britain Win Blind Match Racing Championships "Impressive Showing at Kiel Week: USSTAG, USSDT Members Win Four Medals, Two Medal Races "Clay Johnson Kiel Week Report: "Women's Match Race Update from Kiel: Halfway Through Quarter Finals, Day 4 Kieler Woche " Clay Johnson, Kiel Week Update, Lasers: 'Bullet puts me into Medal Race! ' "Women's Match Racing, Day 3 at Kiel Week: Valuable Lessons Learned "Bermuda Race News Update, 6/21 "Bermuda Race News, Monday 6/21 "Clay Johnson, American Laser Sailor, Kiel Report: Deja Vu at Kiel "Bermuda Race Update, Saturday, June 19, 2010 "Clay Johnson, American Laser Sailor - Day One of Kiel "Kiel Week - Successful start day "184 Boats Start Newport - Bermuda Race "Registration Open for US SAILING Yacht Club Summit "ISAF Sailing World Cup Regatta Series Returns to Germany for 2010 Kiel Week "ISAF Publish Notice Of Race For 2010 Youth Olympic Games "Korea Match Cup Cuts at Quarter Finals "Americans Finish 2nd, 4th and 5th at Star Europeans "Croatian triumph: European Champions are Tonci Stipanovic and Tina Mihelic "Tour Card Holders Command Korea Match Cup "Croatian Stipanovic Is New Leader At Laser Europeans "Stipanovic (CRO) is new leader on Laser Standard "FARR 40 Class 2010 European Championship Set For Porto Rotondo "Qualifications have been sailed at the Laser Europeans in Tallinn "International 420 Class Celebrates 2010! "Fog Delays Racing At Europeans in Tallinn "Fog played the sailors at Europeans in Tallinn today "Emirates Team New Zealand Wins Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena "Leroy defends her title at the 2010 BoatUS Santa Maria Cup "Top Laser Sailors To Compete In European Champs in Tallinn "Boston College Wins 2010 ICSA/Gill Dinghy National Championship "Weather Hampers Racing At 2010 ICSA Dinghy National Championship "On the Olympic Campaign Trail with Andy Horton, Star Sailor "Artemis leads and BMW Oracle Racing leaves "St. Mary's College Wins 2010 ICSA/APS Team Race Nationals "Andy Horton & James Lyne Win Bronze Medal at Delta Lloyd Regatta "2010 Delta Lloyd Regatta crowns three champions "Perfect Conditions On Third Day Of Racing In Medemblik "Light wind delays racing at Delta Lloyd Regatta "Melvin and Shaver Hold on to Win U.S. Multihull Championship "Yachting New Zealand Announce Sailors Selected For 2010 Volvo Youth Worlds "Tactical racing for Delta Lloyd Regatta opening day "Melvin in Control at U.S. Multihull Championship "2009 ISAF Match Racing World Champion Minoprio Wins Stage 2 "30 Olympic Medallists Will Compete At Delta Lloyd Regatta 2010 "Two World Champions Knocked Out - One Remains "Big Dogs Take North American Title on Final Day "Richard Rules Round Robin & Secures A Spot in Semis at Match Race Germany "US SAILING's 2010 Adult National Championship Season Opens with U.S. Multihull Championship "Qatar To Host 2010 470 Junior World Championship "Barkow Wins NYYC's Women's Match Race Regatta "US SAILING's Interview with Stanford Coach John Vandemoer "CleverPig Mentioned by Gary Jobson in the May 2010 Issue of Sailing World "Youth Racing Takes Center Stage at 2010 US SAILING Events "Kljakovic Gaspic successfully defends Finn European title on Home Waters "American, John Kilroy, Finsihes Fourth at Melges 32 Europeans in Cagliari "Finn Europeans: Trujillo leads tight fleet into medal race "Team Tunnicliffe: 2nd Overall At The NYYC Women's Match Race Clinic And Regatta "Team Tunnicliffe: Cold First Day In Newport, RI at NYYC Women's Match Race Regatta "ISAF World Sailing Rankings - 12 May 2010 "Long day afloat for just one race at Finn Europeans "Finn Europeans: Situation normal - covers stay on "Kiel Gears Up To Welcome Over 5000 Sailors "Bryan Boyd interview "Plans For 34th Americas Cup Announced "Record Entry For Finn Europeans In Split "CleverPig Interview with Kaity Storck & Lyndsey Gibbons-Neff "World's Best Women Match Racers Gather In Calpe "Yale and Boston College Win ICSA National Semifinals "US Sailing's Interview with BMW ORACLE Racing Team Tactician John Kostecki "Team Tunnicliffe Wins Silver Medal in Hyeres "Leaders keep position to go into Medal Racesat SOF Hyeres Regatta "470 report from Hyeres (SOF): Graham Biehl & Stu McNay "Hyeres: Longest day on the water "US Sailing Invites Young Olympic Hopefuls to Training Camp in Annapolis "Snail pace in Hyeres "Light conditions continue at Hyeres EurOlymp Regatta "Slow start to the 42nd Semaine Olympique Francaise in Hyeres "Rolex Farr 40 World Championship: Et Two, Nerone "Storck/Moore Report on Hyeres: Trevor sailing with Gold Medalist! "4th Event Of The ISAF Sailing World Cup Begins Sunday "ISAF World Sailing Rankings - 21 April 2010 "Farr 40 Worlds - Heating Up Off Casa De Campo "Australians Finish On Top At 470 Spring Cup "Canadian Team Wins Star Class Western Hemisphere Champs "Italy Hosts World Championship Match Race For Blind Sailors "US Sailing Announces New Protest & Redress Hearing Prescriptions & Procedures "Lively Conditions At Star Western Hemisphere Championships "Perth 2011 Sets Green Goal "APPLY NOW 470 Development Programmes "A CLEVER NEWSLETTER FOR ASPIRING SAILORS "The World Match Racing Tour Matching Mass Market Appeal "World Match Racing Tour Helms Challenge the Bay of Marseille "2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship Entry Deadline 15 April "Match Race Rankings - 7 April 2010 "Zach Railey Dominates Medal Race at Princess Sofia; Barkow Wins Match Race Bronze Medal "Medallists Decided At Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofia MAPFRE 2010 "Close Battle For Medal Race Slots In Palma "Dave Perry's Racing Tip #4: The Underground Passage "Campaign Spotlight: Meet 19 yr-old 470 sailors, Brendan Kopp & Mike Costello from Fairfield, CT "Erik Storck Injured and Out; Trevor set to sail with USSTAG teammate Peet Must "Trujillo takes the lead in the Finn class at the Princess Sofia Regatta in Spain "The 470 class, one of the most competitive fleets in the Princesa Sofia Mapfre "Bruni beats Brady and Berntsson for the Blazer "Brady leads Bruni, Berntsson, Hardesty into sailoffs "Olympic Medallists Lead The Line Up For ISAF Sailing World Cup's Spanish Stop "Bruni sweeps into semis with Berntsson, Brady "Berntsson Remains Unbeaten At Congressional Cup "Berntsson Takes Lead At Congressional Cup "IOC Launches Young Ambassador Programme For The Youth Olympic Games "Groupama 3: How The Round The World Record Was Broken "Emirates Team New Zealand Wins Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland "Quantity And Quality For 42nd Semaine Olympique Francaise "Louis Vuitton: Heart-stopping finish earns Kiwi boat another life "Farr 40 Fleet Heads To Caribbean Waters For 2010 Rolex Farr 40 Worlds "Dave Perry's Racing Tips: No Way ... Not Today! "Louis Vuitton Trophy: Into the final four "Black clouds alter Louis Vuitton Trophy complexion "Whitty Wins Harken Women's Match Race in Syndey, Australia "Interview with USSTAG's Andrew Campbell "Hungry pack fights for top place at Louis Vuitton Trophy "Union Jack flown high by new Moth 2010 World Champion; American, Brad Funk, Finishes 3rd "A Short and Sweet Day 2 for Melges Fleets at Bacardi Miami Sailing Week "Emirates Team New Zealand Enjoys Unbroken Record in Louis Vuitton Trophy "Puma 2010 Moth Worlds: Another Payne-less day for Simon "New Berths For Sailors Competing At London 2012 Olympic Games "Light winds and lots of low riding at the Moth Worlds "Galway, Ireland Announced As Finish Port For 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race "Match Race Rankings - 10 March 2010 "Gear failure puts finish to a close Kiwi vs Italian encounter "Bacardi Cup Star Class Reaches Halfway Point With Horton-Lyne Leading "Diamond of a Day at the 2010 Moth Worlds "Four More Nations Qualify For Youth Olympic Games "Azzurra Delivers Stand-Out Performance On Opening Day In Auckland "McDougall Holds Onto The Lead At PUMA Moth Worlds "New Youth Challenge Introduces Juniors to Offshore Sailing "Moth World Championships Hit the Water Flying "DIAZ/PRADA WIN FIRST DAY OF BACARDI CUP STAR CLASS COMPETITION "PUMA 2010 Moth Worlds Start Today In Dubai "Breakthrough Victories at the 2010 Miami Grand Prix "Miami Grand Prix Champs Down to the Wire - The Battle off South Beach Concludes Sunday "Dave Perry's Racing Tips: Week Two, Know Thy Neighbor "Sheboygan, USA Announced As Host Of 2011 ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final "New 470 Class Website Launched "Ainslie Early Leader At Omega Auckland Match Racing Regatta "World Match Racing Tour Launches New Website "'Sally Forth' Against The Guys In Congressional Cup "Tunnicliffe and Gulari Honored at Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year Ceremony "Online Entry Opens For ISAF Sailing World Cup German Stop (Kiel Week) "Youth Sailors Learn Crucial Ocean Sailing Skills at Miami Training Camp "US Sailing Interview with USSTAG's Paige Railey "2010 Laser Midwinters East Report "Cape Town Is First Stopover Port For Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 "29er NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP, $1 CHARTER, "America's Cup Victory Tour "World Match Racing Tour Announces 2010 Tour Card Holders "Dave Perry's Top Ten Racing Tips: Week One "2010 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics New Team of Olympic/Paralympic Hopefuls Is Packed with Medalists and Rising Talent "USA Wins 33rd America's Cup Match "Stop Press: 33rd America's Cup Race 1: Wing is King "Nanjing to Host 2nd Youth Olympic Games in 2014 "Aemerica's Cup Update: No Racing Today - Race 1 re-scheduled for Friday February 12th "USODA: News from Argentina "Match Race Rankings - 10 February 2010 "Olympians and Olympic Hopefuls Scheduled to Speak at Yacht Clubs Across the United States "Anna Tunnicliffe Report - Laser Radial North Americans "ESPN Will Webcast America's Cup Races "Where Anna Calls Home "USA Makes The Most Of Home Advantage At ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami Stop "Miami OCR, Women's Match Racing; Team Tunnicliffe Reports: We Won! Intense Racing "Rolex Miami OCR 49er Report, Storck/Moore: We Won the Day! "2010 Rolex Miami OCR Olympic Medal Races Determine Prized Podium Positions "Team Tunnicliffe, Miami OCR Update: Day Five, A Hard Won Semi's "World Match Racing Tour Introduces $250,000 Tour Bonus For 2010 "2010 Rolex Miami OCR Medalists Named in Paralympic Classes; Olympic Classes Look for Gold Tomorrow "Miami OCR, Team Tunnicliffe Reports: Day Four, Quarter Final Day "McNay-Biehl, 470 Report: Miami OCR, Day Four "Rolex Miami OCR Day Four, Storck/Moore 49er Report: Best Finish Yet "US SAILING's 2010 Rolex Miami OCR Competition Heats Up for Final Stretch "US Sailing's 2010 Rolex Miami OCR Sailors Hit Their Stride at Halfway Mark "Women's Match Racing Miami OCR Report, Team Tunnicliffe: Day 3, Sorting Out the Seeds "470 Men's Team, McNay-Biehl Report: Day Two Miami OCR "Miami OCR, 49er Report by Storck/Moore: Another Day in the Books at Rolex Miami OCR 2010 "470 Sailors, Team McNay-Biehl Report: Day One Miami OCR "Storck/Moore, Miami OCR 49er Update: Moving on Up! "US SAILING's 2010 Rolex Miami OCR: Shifty Wind Made for Challenging Racing in All Classes "Miami OCR, Women's Match Racing, Anna Tunnicliffe Reports: Great Start On Day 1 "US Sailing's Rolex Miami OCR: Abbreviated Opening Day for Some; No Sailing for Others "Miami OCR, Storck/Moore Report from 49er Land: One Day Down, More to Come! "Storck/Moore: Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta Set to Begin, Not a Moment too Soon! "International Lightning Boat Grant Program Enters Fourth Year "US SAILING's 2010 Rolex Miami OCR: Big Regatta, Big Guns Ready for Opening Day "Olympic Sailing Program Presents Inaugural US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics Awards " "Steady Winds and Boat Speed Rule the Day in Key West "Americans, Mark Medleblatt & Jon Von Schwarz Win The Final Race of the 2010 Star Worlds in Brazil "Americans,Rick Merriman and Phil Trinter Win Race 5 of Star Worlds "Key West Contenders Emerge on Day Three "2010 Rolex Miami OCR: National Pride at Stake for World's Best Olympic and Paralympic Sailors "Lead Changes and Challenges at Key West - Good Tactics and Boat Speed Rule the Day "49er North American's Report: Storck/Moore, North American Champions "Americans, Merriman & Trinter Second in Race 4 of the Star Worlds "US SAILING Selects Winners of Youth World Qualifier for 2010 Youth World Team "French Horizon Job in Race 3 at Star Worlds; Americans Campbell & Nichol in Seventh "REGISTRATION OPEN FOR U.S. JUNIOR WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIPS "Swiss Sailors Win Race Two of Star Worlds; Americans Campbell & Nichol move into 4th Overall "Team McNay-Biehl, 470 North American's Report, Miami, Florida: Day One "49er North Americans, Storck/Moore Report: Day 1; Big Breeze, Big Improvement! "Young Germans Win Race 1 of Star Worlds In Rio de Janiero "Defending American Champions Hoping For Light Winds At 2010 Star Worlds "ISAF Publishes NOR For 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF Worlds "RS:X Class Announces Reach-4-The-Top Training Camp Dates For 2010 "Future Olympic Hopefuls Selected for New US Development Team "49er Worlds, Storck/Moore Update: 24th in the World! "British Sailor, Massey Wins Back to Back I14 Championships "World's Top Teams Prepare For Gold Star Battle In Rio "American Genny Tulloch Finishes 2nd in Women's Finals Of Carlos Aguilar Match Race "Storck/Moore Improve on Day 2 of Gold Fleet at 49er Worlds "CST Composites International 14 Class World Championship, Final Series - Day One "Storck/Moore News on 49er Worlds: Gold Fleet Racing: Not for the Faint of Heart! "US SAILING Athlete Selection Procedures for 2010 Youth Olympic Games "Registration Closes Friday, January 8 for US SAILING's 2010 Rolex Miami OCR "Bora Gulari and Anna Tunnicliffe are 2009 Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year "Olympic Sailing Program Hosts Development Training Camps For Young Athletes "Point Loma, Georgetown hang on in Rose Bowl Regatta "Rivalry lives in 25th Rose Bowl Regatta "'Two True', Winner of the Rolex Sydney Hobart "The 2009 Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta crosses Finish Line " A longday at the Orange Bowl where the competition tightened up "Australia Wins I-14 Teams Racing in World Warm Up "I14 Teams Racing Underway "Orange Bowl Regatta - An international success "RAN on watch for Rolex double "Rolex Sydney Hobart Line Honours Podium Fills "Wild Oats XI arrives in Alfa Romeo's wake "Rolex Sydney Hobart Race: March of the 40 footers "Lead yachts sailing into lighter breeze as Alfa Romeo rains on Wild Oats XI's parade "Tactical decisions the key to 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart "Rising Star: US SAILING Talks To Laser Sailor Clay Johnson "USSTAG Members Win Three Silver Medals at Sail Melbourne "Classes decided on medal race day at Sail Melbourne "US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics Members Named 2009 SportsMan, SportsWoman and Team of the Year "Americans Lead Laser Classes at Sail Melbourne Heading into the Final Day "Year-end Letter from USOPSP Chairman Dean Brenner "Limited racing on day four of Sail Melbourne "U.S. Singlehanded Championship Revamped for 2010 "Remembering Roy "Conditions rule the afternoon at Sail Melbourne "US SAILING's Rolex Yachtsman & Yachtswoman of the Year Awards, The Shortlist "US SAILING Recognizes 2009's Outstanding Sailing Coaches "American, Clay Johnson Takes the Lead in the Laser Class at Sail Melbourne "American, Paige Railey Leads Laser Radial Fleet at Sail Melbourne After Day One "Record Breaking Turnout Expected for Upcoming 2009 Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta "Sail Sydney: Winners announced "Sail Sydney Day 3: Light to start – fabulous to finish "Sail Sydney Day 2: Cream rises to the top in ideal conditions "Sail Sydney Day 3: Light nor-westers set to test all "Jabin Fills His Gold Cup With Victory In Ft. Lauderdale "Sail Sydney Day 1: Competitors find the going tough "Minoprio Wins 2009 ISAF Match Racing World Championship "Meadows Overtakes Lovell At The Melges 32 Gold Cup "Lovell Takes The Gold Cup Lead "ISAF Announces Approval Of International Jury For The 33rd America's Cup "Ainslie Stars In A 'Tale Of Two Rivers' At Monsoon Cup "World Champion Out At Monsoon Cup " The Monsoon Cup 2009 - The Toughest Day at the Office "Lightning Class Association Accepting Applicants for the 2010 Boat Grant Program "ISAF Sailing World Cup Announces Revised Scoring System For 2009-2010 "ALL AT STAKE AT THE MONSOON CUP "American, Mark Mendelblatt, Top American at Star South American Championship "I-420's Will Have a Start at the 2009 Youth Orange Bowl "Australian Sailors, Sam Kivell and Will Ryan storm into the 470 lead at Sail Brisbane "Opti. MidWinter's A Success "Team Hardesty and Chicago Match Race Center Capture 2009 U.S. Match Racing Championship "2009 U.S. Match Racing Championship Semifinals Start Sunday Morning "Hardesty Holds on to Lead After First Round Robin Concludes at 2009 U.S. Match Racing Championship "ISAF Youth World Qualifier Notice of Race Posted Online "Yacht Club Pride on the Line this Week at U.S. Match Racing Championship "Team Tulloch Wins in Thrilling Finish at 2009 U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship "Tunnicliffe Remains Undefeated Through Two Rounds at 2009 U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship "Countdown On To Sail Melbourne And Start Of 2009-10 ISAF Sailing World Cup "Tunnicliffe Leads After First Day of 2009 U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship "Interview with Anna Tunnicliffe On 2009, World Sailor And Her Match Racing Ambitions "Registration Opens Friday for US SAILING's 2010 Rolex Miami OCR "Anna Tunnicliffe Awarded 2009 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year, Sailing's Highest Honor "Talented Fleet Prepares for 2009 U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship "US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics' John Ruf Is New 2.4 mR World Champion "Olympic Sailing Program Announces New US Sailing Development Team "American, Chris Larson and Team Win the Melges 24 World Championship! "LARSON MAKES SENSE OF DRIFTING CONDITIONS TO REGAIN THE LEAD "Good Day for the Italians but Larson Extends His Lead "USODA Lake Garda Team Announcement "American David Loring Wins 2009 Sunfish World Championship "The 2009 Melges 24 World Championship got underway today in Annapolis, MD "Great Action at the Sunfish Worlds in Nassau, Bahamas "Casey and Williams Crowned 2009 U.S. Multihull Championship in Exciting Fashion "Terry Kohler Receives US SAILING's Highest Honor for Contributions to the Sport "USODA Oceania Team Members Announced "Catamaran Racing in the Forefront at 2009 U.S. Multihull Championship "World's Best Race To St. Petersburg For ISAF Grade 1 Women's Match Racing "Catamaran Racing in the Forefront at 2009 U.S. Multihull Championship "Whitman/Dorsett Take Silver at IFDS World Championship "Highlander Class Rep Dieball Claims US SAILING's Championship of Champions "Chilly Temperatures and Low Winds at Day one of US SAILING's Championship of Champions "Bahamas Ready For 2009 Sunfish Worlds; Jr Worlds Begins Today "Competition Underway At IFDS Worlds In Greece "2010 Ranking System for USSTAG "American SKUD 18 sailors, Scott Whittman & Julia Dorsett won the first and only race of the IFDS Disabled Worlds in Athens "Class Title Holders Collide at US SAILING's 2009 Championship of Champions "Q & A with Paul Cayard on the Championship of Champions Regatta "World's Top Disabled Sailors Ready As IFDS Worlds Get Underway In Greece "2009 Club 420 Association Mid-Atlantic Championship "Teams End Sail22 Tuning Regatta with a Look at All Conditions "Ainslie Gets The Gold "Tunnicliffe Wins First US SAILING Rolex IWKC Title "British Bulldogs vs. Kiwi Silver Ferns "Ainslie shines in quest for King Edward VII Gold Cup "Sailors Prepare for Final Day of Racing at US SAILING's Rolex IWKC "Team Tunnicliffe Takes Early Lead at Day One of US SAILING's Rolex IWKC "Ainslie At 7-0 Perfect, So Far "Notice of Races Published For Youth Olympic Games Qualifiers "Ainslie, Richard and Williams lead the charge "US SAILING's Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship Starts Today in Rochester "Penalty Flags fly in early stage of Argo Group Gold Cup "Round robin pairings announced for Argo Group Gold Cup "International Fleet Heads to Rochester for Rolex IWKC "2009 Rolex Next Step Program Graduates 25 Junior Sailors "US SAILING's 2010 Rolex Miami OCR Notice of Race Available Online "Anna Tunnicliffe Named 2009 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Nominee "Team Extreme Dethrones Silver Panda at 2009 U.S. Team Racing Champs "American, Pieter Taselaar, Wins Audi Melges 32 Worlds "Kuryla, NYYC Capture U.S. Offshore Sailing Champs Following Protest "American, Taselaar, Takes the Lead of the Audi Melges 32 World Championship "Silver Panda Edged in Day One of U.S. Team Racing Championship "Friday's Leaders Crowned Champions on Saturday at U.S. Men's and Women's Sailing Championships "Lead Change in Men's Division on Day Three at 2009 USMWSC "Kleinschrodt Pair Take Lead at U.S. Men's and Women's Sailing Championships "U.S. Naval Academy to Host U.S. Offshore Championship "NYYC Silver Panda Targets Continued Dominance at U.S. Team Racing Championship "Historic U.S. Men's and Women's Sailing Championships Come to Mississippi "Andy Horton and Steve Erickson win 2009 Star North American Championship "USA Wins Two Bronze, Two Gold Medals at Sail for Gold "Matt Fisher with crew Tobi & Dan Moriarty are the 2009 Lightning World Champions "US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics Wins Two Gold Medals in Paralympic Classes "USA Sailors Lead the 2009 Lightning World Championship at Malletts Bay Boat Club, Colchester Vermont "2009 World Champions, Szabo And Peters Leading Star North Americans "Team USA Gearing Up To Grab Some Medals at Sail for Gold "Americans, Rodriguez and Place Finish Third in 2009 Snipe Worlds "French and Rosenfield Win at U.S. Disabled Sailing Championships "Tight Racing Going Into the Last Day of the Snipe Worlds "Inspirational Sailors Gather for 2009 U.S. Disabled Sailing Championship "505 Worlds win a breeze for Martin and Nelson "Martin/Nelson: It's their 505 Worlds to win "Paralympic Gold Medalist Scandone Wins US SAILING's National Sportsmanship Award "Mario Tinoco and crew Matheus Goncalves (BRA) Win 2009 Snipe Jr. Worlds "No Surprises On Final Day at The Clagett Jr. Memorial Regatta "Snipe Jr. Worlds starts as scorcher on land, ends as nail biter on water "San Diego orders up a breezy day for Day 3 of the Snipe Jr. Worlds "Martin And Nelson Working On A 505 Worlds Sweep "US SAILING Announces Ranking System for 2010 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics' Disabled Classes "Holt Early Leader At 505 Worlds "Racing Gets More Competitive After Day 2 of the Snipe Jr. World Championship "American, Clay Johnson is in second place at the Laser Worlds "American, Clay Johnson in 3rd place at the 169 boat Laser World's "USA Wins Bronze Medal in I-420 World Championship "Taylor Canfield & Stephanie Roble Dominate Club 420 North American Championship "California Sweeps Chubb U.S. Junior Champs "US Sailing's Q&A Star World Champs Szabo and Peters "U.S. Sailing's U.S. Chubb Junior Championships off to a Strong Start "George Szabo and Rick Peters Win Star Worlds "New Zealand, USA And Switzerland Set to Battle in Final Race at Star Worlds "Kiwis Hit The Front At Star Worlds, Americans Tied for Second "Race Win for USA at Star Worlds "Rogachenko Captures Second Career U.S. Singlehanded Championship "Tunnicliffe Wins Bronze a Laser Radial World Championship "MULTALA Wins Laser Radial World Title "MULTALA Takes The Lead With One Day To Go At Laser Radial Worlds "MUTALA Leads From TUNNICLIFFE At Laser Radial Worlds "Straight To The Semis- Racing Cancelled At ISAF Women's Match Racing Worlds "Leroy Leads Six Teams to Quarter Finals at ISAF Women's Match Racing Worlds "Xu Moves to Top At Laser Radial Worlds "Getting Down to the Wire at ISAF Women's Match Racing Worlds "Fenclova & Tunnicliffe Early Leaders at Laser Radial Worlds "McKinney Wins US Jr. Women's Singledhanded Championship Debut "Aussies Lead Into Finals At 29er Worlds "Tough at the Top on Day Two of the 29er Worlds "Naughton Takes Narrow Lead After Day One at U.S. Jr. Women's Singlehanded Championship "Paige Railey Wins 2009 Laser Radial European Championship "US Youth World Team Learns Valuable Lessons at Youth World Sailing Championship "USA Hauls in Major Results at European Laser Radial Youth Champs "US Team Travels to Brazil for 2009 Youth World Championship "Four New Titlists Crowned at U.S. Youth Sailing Championship "Team USA Wins Two Golds and a Bronze at Kiel Olympic Regatta "Leblanc Wins Robie Pierce Regatta for Disabled Sailors "Maxwell and Kinsolving Win Bronze at Delta Lloyd "Tunnicliffe Pulls Out NYYC Match Race Victory "Will there be a multihull in the 2012 Olympics? "Tunnicliffe Wins Gold at Semaine Olympique Francaise in Hyeres "US Sailors Lead ISAF Sailing World Cup Standings "Tulloch Wins 2009 Rolex Women's Match "Paige Railey Wins Gold at Princess Sofia! "CISA Clinic Ends with Windy Race Day "Lightning Class Announces 2009 Boat Grant Recipients "Elliott 6M Confirmed for Women's Match Race Events "US Sailing Announces 2009 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics "US I-420 Class announces Sailing Team for 2009 World Champs "Screve/McBride Win Club 420 Midwinters! "Americans Defend World Team Racing Title "Winners Determined at Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta "US Sailing Recognizes Outstanding Sailing Coaches for 2008 "US Sailing Selects 2009 Youth World Team "CISA Accepting Applications for 2009 Advanced Racing Clinic "Terry Hutchinson and Anna Tunnicliffe Win 2008 Rolex Honors "US Sailing Announces Members of New U-18 and U-23 Sailing Teams "Paralympic Gold Medalist Nick Scandone Loses Battle with ALS "The new racing rules are now in effect!! " Anna Tunnicliffe and Stu McNay/Graham Biehl win gold, silver in Melbourne "US SAILING Names 2008 Athletes of the Year "US Finn Class Launches Development Program "LAST DAY! - Nominate your coach for US Sailing Coach Awards "World Match Racing Tour Announces 2009 Schedule "Registration Open for 2009 US Youth World Qualifier "Registration Open for 2009 Miami OCR "Boats Announced for 2010 US Sailing Youth Worlds Qualifier "International Lightning Boat-Grant Program Marks its Third Year "US Sailing Announces Olympic Training Pipeline for U-18 and U-23 Sailors "ISAF Adds 29er to Youth Worlds lineup "ISAF Keeps 470 for Women at 2012 Olympics! "2009 Rolex Women's Keelboat In Rochester "Rolex Miami OCR Notice of Race Available Online "ISAF To Decide 2012 Olympic Classes "Kenneth Andreasen is new US Olympic Sailing Head Coach "NOR Posted for 2009 Youth World Qualifier "2008 Olympics - US Sailing Team Wrap-up "Foundation Launches Web Site for Racing Sailors
"Hi-tech Media Coverage For 505 Worlds in Aarhus
A hi-tech racing boat deserves hi-tech race coverage, and that is what the 505 class is getting for its World Championship which is about to start in Aarhus, Denmark
Fans from around the globe will be able to watch blow-by-blow coverage of the SAP 505 World Championship through a huge array of media, from live video streaming, live GPS tracking, through to daily podcasts and coverage via social media such as Twitter and Facebook. All of these different media will be channelled through the official regatta website at: www.505sapworldchampionship2010.com
As to the competition itself, predicting a winner from a fleet as tough as the 505 fleet is never easy, especially when the entry has climbed to more than 120 teams from 11 different nations. Danish team Jan Saugmann and Morten Ramsbæk won the Worlds in 2007, and the Copenhagen sailors have been training in Aarhus this season to try to gain a crucial local advantage, along with many other local crews.
British sailmaker Ian Pinnell won the 2008 Worlds and has this year teamed up with the winning crew from 2006, Ian Mitchell. Although they've done little sailing together in the 505 they have sailed together a good deal before in the International 14, and Pinnell believes they have a good chemistry in the 505.
"We're expecting light to medium airs in Aarhus, although we're aware you can get any kind of condition there," says Pinnell. "As to our competition, certainly there are some very strong Danes but my main concern is Wolfgang Hunger The German is viewed by many as the best 470 sailor never to have won an Olympic medal, having won the 470 World Championships three times. "He never seems to make a mistake," says Pinnell of Hunger, also a former 505 World Champion, "so if we're going to beat him I think we'll probably need to do it with better boatspeed." Hunger, sailing with Julian Kleiner, is bidding to win his second world title.
If Hunger is one of the best never to have won an Olympic medal, then the Danish Bojsen-Møller brothers, Jørgen and Jacob, are possibly the best Olympic sailors never to have won the 505 Worlds. It is a mark of the quality of this fleet that despite having won gold and bronze Olympic medals in the Flying Dutchman class, they have never yet managed to win the 505 Worlds.
Taking place at the Kaløvig Sailing Centre, event organiser Thomas Capitani Nielsen from Sailing Aarhus, says the competitors have to be ready for almost any kind of weather conditions, and he hopes they will experience a bit of everything. He is also excited about the prospect of showcasing the Worlds through so many different media.
"We are working closely with people from the Active Institute at the University of Aarhus, who are using the Worlds as an opportunity to put into practice everything they are studying about media and technology," he says. "We're lucky that the 505 class was already sponsored by a technology company such as SAP, who understand everything we are trying to achieve and indeed have now committed their own people and resources to taking the event media coverage to an even higher level."
"We know there is an audience of fans around the world who want to follow the 505 Worlds closely, and with modern technology such as tracking, video streaming and social media, we have a great opportunity to bring the story of the regatta to them."
The SAP 505 World Championship starts with the Pre Worlds from 26 to 28 July, and the Worlds takes place from 30 July to 5 August.
Follow the regatta at the official event website: www.505sapworldchampionship2010.com
To learn more about all the different ways you can keep track of the racing: http://www.505sapworldchampionship2010.com/media-guide/
To find out more about how the University of Aarhus is bringing sailing to a wider audience: http://activeinstitute.dk/2010/07/the-sap-505-world-championship-mashup/
"NOR for ISAF Grade 1 Rolex Osprey Cup - Request for Invitations Now Open
The Notice of Race for the 2010 Rolex Osprey Cup has been posted by organizers St. Petersburg Yacht Club (St. Petersburg, Fla.) to the website. The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Grade 1 match racing regatta – scheduled for October 20-23 – annually attracts the world’s top women sailors such as defending Rolex Osprey Cup champion and 2008 Olympian Giluia Conti (Toscolano Maderno, Italy), 2008 Olympian Anne-Claire Le Berre (Brest, FRA), US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics members Anna Tunicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) Molly Vandemoer (Redwood City, Calif.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.), world’s #1 ranked match racer Lucy MacGregor, and ISAF Rolex Sailor of the Year Claire Leroy (Nantes, FRA). Women sailors interested in competing should apply for an invitation online by August 1.
The first ISAF Grade 1 match race regatta to be held after the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship at the New York Yacht Club in September, the Rolex Osprey Cup is expected to attract many of the teams working toward a berth at the 2012 Olympics in England.
“Interest in women’s match racing is at an all-time high right now,” said Pat Seidenspinner (St. Petersburg, Fla.), the event’s Principal Race Officer and co-chair with Tom Farquhar. “And it’s only going to get more interesting and exciting. Match racing is exciting to watch and we try to encourage spectators by running races very close to the St. Petersburg Municipal Pier.” She went on to explain that prime viewing can be found at the pier or on the water by personal boat.
The Rolex Osprey Cup schedule includes registration and practice sailing on Tuesday, October 19 with daily racing Wednesday, Oct. 20 through Saturday, Oct. 23. The format consists of a double round robin, with knockout (first to win 3 points) semi-final and final rounds scheduled at the end of the round robins. The awards will take place at the Regatta Dinner on Saturday evening.
The Rolex Osprey Cup was founded in 1996 and in 2000 Rolex Watch U.S.A. became the title sponsor. The regatta was not held in 2000 in lieu of hosting the Rolex ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship. For more information, results and photos please visit the www.spyc.org.
About Rolex Watch U.S.A. Since Rolex Watch U.S.A. first presented timepieces to America’s Cup defenders in 1958, the company has consistently recognized and encouraged excellence in every important arena of competitive sailing, including elite athlete preparation, US SAILING championships, disabled sailing, and offshore, one-design and women’s events.
The Rolex Osprey Cup is part of the Rolex Yachting Portfolio that includes over 20 world-class sailing events taking place around the world such as the Rolex Miami OCR, New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta presented by Rolex, Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Rolex Fastnet Race, Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, New York Yacht Club Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex, Rolex Big Boat Series, Rolex US-IRC National Championship, Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship and Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
"USSDT's Erika Reineke Becomes Laser Radial Youth World Champion
US Sailing Development Team member Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) continued her successful sailing streak this month by becoming the 2010 Laser Radial Youth World Champion today. After winning a bronze medal at the 40th Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship 10 days ago, Reineke firmly stated her aspiration for this event: “My goal is to win and bring home a gold medal,” she said. She achieved that goal with a race to spare and a healthy 27-point cushion, thanks to a string of first and second place finishes in the 44-boat girls fleet.
“I am very excited. I set a goal and went after it, and I didn’t let the results from last week get in my head,” said the talented 16-year-old sailor, referring to her bronze medal at the ISAF Youth Worlds, as it’s commonly called, held in Istanbul, Turkey. This time, she swapped podium finishes with The Netherland’s Michelle Broekhuizen, who finished third.
“After the second day when I got two firsts, I said to myself, ‘I can definitely do this. I’m in the running for gold, so I have to execute well,’” she said today before the awards ceremony. “I pushed hard to achieve results, and it paid off.”
Reineke credited her lead to her starts and downwind speed, which worked to her advantage in Istanbul as well. “I had amazing starts every single race, except for one, and I was able to push back the fleet,” she said. “It was exciting to do that, and it also gave me confidence. On the downwind [legs], I was very fast again, and I was able to gain a lot of boats.”
Despite her small size, she knew she had the strength to keep up with the bigger girls in the breeze. “Because of all the training I had done leading up to now, I knew I was strong and could hang with them,” she said. “I felt very strong when I was hiking.”
“She never quit,” said Coach Ryan Minth (New York, N.Y.). “Her determination and effort were remarkable. When she was doing well, she persevered. When she was behind, she had remarkable recoveries.”
The world’s best youth Laser Radial sailors – 320 sailors from 42 countries – competed in the boys and girls divisions this week in a mixture of light air and breeze in the teens. For complete results, please visit the event web site: http://www.laserworlds2010.co.uk. For the latest news and updates, please follow the team on Facebook and Twitter.
About the US Sailing Development Team
The US Sailing Development Team (USSDT) is managed by the United States Sailing Association (US SAILING), the national governing body for the sport of sailing and sailboat racing. Selected annually, the USSDT is supported and administered exclusively by the US Olympic Sailing Committee (OSC) of US SAILING. The OSC’s mission is to develop sailors for Olympic-caliber competition and to prepare them for qualification to the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) and the Olympic Sailing Team. The OSC supports these athletes with coaching and by facilitating training and racing with and against the best national and international competition. 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. For more information about US SAILING, please visit: www.ussailing.org. For more information about the US Sailing Development Team, please visit: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org.
"Legends Signed Up For Skandia Sail for Gold
Just a few days remain until entries for the Skandia Sail for Gold regatta close on Monday 26 July. Currently over 800 competitors from 53 nations have entered the fifth installment of this ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta.
Many of the world's top sailors have signed up, including World, European and Olympic champions, who will all descend on Weymouth and Portland from 9 - 14 August for the final regatta of the ISAF Sailing World Cup 2009-2010. Some of these competitors are returning to Olympic class sailing after a break for events such as the Volvo Ocean Race and America's Cup. Triple Olympic gold and silver medallist Ben Ainslie (GBR) announced his entry this week. Nearly two years to the day that he secured his third Olympic gold in Beijing, Ben returns to compete in his Finn.
"I think Skandia Sail for Gold is a really important regatta for me to attend to not only check in with where the rest of the Finn fleet are, and what developments have taken place since I've been away, but also to familiarise myself with the venue and conditions as I've actually not raced an Olympic Class boat at Weymouth and Portland for about five or six years. I have to accept I'm not going to be 100 percent race ready, 100 percent Finn fit and at my ideal racing weight, but the benefits of competing far outweigh any frustrations I may experience as long as I'm realistic, and possibly more importantly, other people are realistic about what I can achieve on such limited preparation," Ben Ainslie.
Current ISAF Rolex World Sailors of the Year Torben Grael (BRA) and Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) are set to compete at this event. Grael, a five time Olympic medallist has recently returned to the Star. His last Olympic appearance was in Athens in 2004, and most recently he skippered Ericsson 4 to victory in the 2008/09 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race. He will be competing in the highly competitive Star class, where he secured bronze at the World Championships in Rio earlier this year, in Weymouth he and fellow crew Marcelo Ferreira will line up alongside current World Champions and Beijing gold medallists Skandia Team GBR's Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson.
With a gold medal in the Laser Radial Class from Beijing under her belt, Tunnicliffe is back competing both on her Radial in 2010 and also lining up in the fiercely competitive Women's Match Racing class at Weymouth. Commenting ahead of the event, Anna said, "I'm very excited to come to Weymouth. We had a great time last year and it was such good sailing. I think the venue and sailing area are great, what more could we want! The racing will be close, but if we sail smart and minimize the mistakes then we have a good chance at doing well overall".
Other notable British entries include double Olympic gold medallistSarah Ayton competing in the 470 with crew Saskia Clark, they recently won the last ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta in Kiel and have high hopes for a podium finish. In the RS:X class, Beijing Bronze medallist Bryony Shaw will be looking for a good performance on home waters, however she will have to keep an eye over her shoulder for recently crowned RS:X silver medallist at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship Isobel Hamilton. World and Olympic Laser champion Paul Goodison will be looking to make his mark in the largest fleet of the event (160 entries so far), whilst recently crowned World Champions in the Paralympic Skud class Alexandra Rickman and Niki Birrell are looking forward taking on the compeition, "Racing on the Olympic courses will be very interesting for us, it will be an opportunity to see what the competition is like on the future 2012 site and we can't wait to take on the rest of the world on home turf!".
The international field is a depth of talent including Australian 470 Beijing gold medal-winning crew Malcolm Page, fresh from winning the World Championships with Mathew Belcher. Olympic veteran, quadruple Olympic medallist Robert Scheidt (BRA), and recently crowned Women's 470 World Champions Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout (NED).
Claire Leroy (FRA) and crew, currently ranked third overall in the ISAF Sailing World Cup Women's Match Racing standings (view standings here) will be battling it out with just one point separating the top three boats led by Skandia Team GBR's Lucy Macgregor and crew. Elsewhere the Finn class is equally as close, with just seven points seperating the top three sailors. Britain's Ed Wright will be looking to defend his ISAF Sailing World Cup title, but with Finn heavyweights including Beijing silver medallist Zach Railey (USA), Ivan Kljakovic gaspic (CRO), Jonathan Lobert (FRA) and Ben Ainslie's return to the circuit, it is clear there will be a well fought battle for the overall title.
Click here to view the latest entry list
"DeLisser Claims Her Second U.S. Jr Women's Singlehanded Championship
The final day of racing was canceled at the U.S. Junior Women's Singlehanded Championship (USJWSC) on Friday with Tropical Storm Bonnie approaching Miami. Despite not having the opportunity to finish the final two races scheduled, this year's championship did not come up short of excitement from the field of 46. Following Thursday's impressive performance, Miami's Arielle deLisser won her second USJWSC in three years with a come from behind win.
On day two (Thursday) of the USJWSC, hosted by the Coral Reef Yacht Club, the 2008 champion deLisser, posted three bullets out of the four races conducted on Biscayne Bay in Laser Radials to win the championship by a point over Wednesday’s leader and 2009 champion, Molly McKinney (Sarasota, Fla.). DeLisser answered McKinney’s performance on Wednesday to surge ahead in the standings through eight races.
"I really liked the coaches we had here," said deLisser. "They really helped me with strategy and fleet management. I had the speed, but I just needed better strategy."
The last race had a climactic ending and put the finishing touches on an exciting day of racing with extremely close competition. At the last weather mark, deLisser was being closely covered by McKinney. DeLisser managed to break away to the left side of the downwind leg to surge ahead of McKinney. DeLisser held a 10 second lead at the last leeward gate. Despite covering McKinney closely down the stretch, deLisser finished the eighth race a few boat lengths ahead for the win.
Thursday’s racing proved that great sailors can always recover. In race five, deLisser capsized on her first downwind leg. However, she scurried back to finish in seventh place. Arielle mentioned, "I went out sore and tired yesterday and sailed hard because I really needed the points. When I flipped over, I needed to work that much harder to get back in the race."
During race six, McKinney thought she was over early and came back to restart. At the windward mark she was in 15th place, but managed to catch up and finish third. McKinney tallied a 3-3-3-2 line on Thursday. She didn’t finish a race below third for the entire championship.
McKinney explained, "There is good competition here every year. I was really banking on sailing today. It's disappointing. I learned a lot from the variety of coaches from different areas. They really helped me out with tactics."
Sky Adams (Santa Barbara, Calif.) was in third place near the finish of race eight. Unfortunately, she capsized and fell out of her boat right before the end of the race and finished eighth. This race was her drop. Adams finished third overall and 12 points behind deLisser.
Adams received the USJWSC Sportsmanship Award, while Rachel Perry was named the Most Improved sailor.
McKinney, deLisser, and Adams are all sailing competitively next year at the collegiate level. McKinney will sail for Stanford University; deLisser for Hobart & William Smith Colleges; and Adams for Brown University.
During the day, the wind stayed between 15 and 18 knots from the NE shifting left, with whitecaps rippling on the water. The temperature was a cool 88 degrees. With a possible tropical storm lurking, Principal Race Officer John Strassman made it a priority to get the maximum number of races in for the two days.
Please visit the event website for more details on the event, including daily recaps, results, photos, competitor roster, list of clinic coaches, event history, and more. Also, follow us on Facebook and Twitter for all championship updates.
The U.S. Junior Women's Singlehanded Championship, sponsored by LaserPerformance and supported by the C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Trust, is part of US SAILING’s Junior National Championship series.
Pos Bow Skipper Yacht Club Results Points
1. 43 Arielle deLisser CRYC/LYC/BLYC 1-2-5-2-[7]-1-1-1 13
2. 33 Molly McKinney Sarasota Youth Sailing Program [3]-1-1-1-3-3-3-2 14
3. 20 Sky Adams Santa Barbara Yacht Club 5-3-4-4-1-2-6-[8] 25
4. 17 Kaitlyn Baab St. Francis Yacht Club/FAST 4-8-2-6-2-4-[20]-4 30
5. 34 Kelly McGlynn Little Egg Harbor Yacht Club 9-[12]-9-3-4-8-2-3 38
- Race Report content provided by Connie Bischoff.
"DeLisser Charges Into First Place at U.S. Jr. Women's Singlehanded Champs
On day two of the U.S. Junior Women’s Single handed Championship, hosted by the Coral Reef Yacht Club, 2008 champion Arielle deLisser (Miami, Fla.) posted three bullets out of the four races conducted on Biscayne Bay to take a one point advantage over yesterday’s leader and 2009 champion, Molly McKinney (Sarasota, Fla.). DeLisser answered McKinney’s performance on Wednesday to surge ahead in the standings through eight races.
The last race had a climactic ending and put the finishing touches on an exciting day of racing with extremely close competition. At the last weather mark, deLisser was being closely covered by McKinney. DeLisser managed to break away to the left side of the downwind leg to surge ahead of McKinney. DeLisser held a 10 second lead at the last leeward gate. Despite covering McKinney closely down the stretch, deLisser finished the eighth race a few boat lengths ahead for the win.
Today’s racing proved that great sailors can always recover. In race five, deLisser capsized on her first downwind leg. However, she scurried back to finish in seventh place. During race six, McKinney thought she was over early and came back to restart. At the windward mark she was in 15th place, but managed to catch up and finish third. McKinney tallied a 3-3-3-2 line today. She hasn’t finished race below third for the championship.
Sky Adams (Santa Barbara, Calif.) was in third place near the finish of race eight. Unfortunately, she capsized and fell out of her boat right before the end of the race and finished eighth. This race was her drop. Adams is in third place overall and 12 points behind deLisser.
During the day, the wind stayed between 15 and 18 knots from the NE shifting left, with whitecaps rippling on the water. The temperature was a cool 88 degrees. With a possible tropical storm lurking, Principal Race Officer John Strassman made it a priority to get the maximum number of races in for the two days. Weather permitting, the 46 girls will compete in two more races on Friday, starting at 10:30 a.m.
Please visit the event website for more details on the event, including daily recaps, results, photos, competitor roster, list of clinic coaches, event history, and more. Also, follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates from Miami throughout the championship.
The U.S. Junior Women's Singlehanded Championship, sponsored by LaserPerformance and supported by the C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Trust, is part of US SAILING’s Junior National Championship series.
- Race Report content provided by Connie Bischoff.
"Former Champions out in Front at U.S. Jr Women's Singlehanded Champs
Racing began this morning on Biscayne Bay in Laser Radials for the U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship, hosted by the Coral Reef Yacht Club. The 2009 champion, Molly McKinney, and 2008 champion, Arielle deLisser, got off to great starts today in their quest to once again claim the Nancy Leiter Clagett Memorial Trophy.
McKinney (Sarasota, Fla.) has taken an early four point lead by winning 3-out-of-the 4 races. She finished third in race one. DeLisser (Miami, Fla.) is in second after posting a pair of seconds, a fifth place finish, and a bullet in race one. Sky Adams (Santa Barbara, Calif.) is in third place and 10 points behind McKinney. She tallied a 5-3-4-4 line. Adams finished fifth last year.
Forty-six of the top singlehanded junior women sailors in the country are competing in this championship event. The winds were consistent at 12-16 knots with 90 to 95 degree temperatures. For those who thought it was going to be a light air regatta, they certainly got a good workout with today’s conditions.
McKinney, deLisser, and Adams are all sailing competitively next year at the collegiate level. McKinney will sail for Stanford; deLisser for Hobart & William Smith Colleges; and Adams for Brown University.
Racing resumes tomorrow at 11 a.m. and the championship concludes on Friday. Please visit the event website for more details on the event, including daily recaps, results, photos, competitor roster, list of clinic coaches, event history, and more. Also, follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates from Miami throughout the championship.
The U.S. Junior Women's Singlehanded Championship, sponsored by LaserPerformance and supported by the C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Trust, is part of US SAILING’s Junior National Championship series.
- Race Report content provided by Connie Bischoff.
"Aussies Claim Gold In Holland at 470 Worlds
A return to World Cup fever overcame the British camp today at the Delta Lloyd 470 World Championship, when after the day's opening race in the Men’s fleet the 23 year old Skandia Team GBR crew Luke Patience with Stuart Bithell on the wire moved into the lead position with double world champions Nic Asher and Elliot Willis second. This was the first time at this regatta that the Australians Matt Belcher and Malcolm Page had fallen from the top spot.
But British jubilation was shortlived. On the second beat of today's race two, Patience and Bithell were left floundering when the attachment for their rudder broke. Unable to make a repair they could do nothing but retire and were unable to compete in the third race of the day either, their hopes for a World Championship victory destroyed.
“We couldn’t steer or do anything,” said Patience. “We tried to sort it for the third race and we just couldn’t. When it goes, it bends the pin and ruptures the back of the boat – it is a big problem. It is very disappointing for sure. I can only blame myself: I look after the boat and I had checked it and I checked it before the start as well, because I felt something wobbling. I couldn’t see any problem but there must have been a bit of play and off it went.”
Having suffered in today’s first race when they hadn’t anticipated the wind increasing from 8 to 18 knots after a squall passed through, Belcher and Page returned to form, posting a 1-2 in the final two races. Leaving them now 20 points ahead of second place, which means before even sailing tomorrow’s medal race they have already secured the 2010 Delta Lloyd 470 Men’s World Championship – Page’s fifth 470 World Championship title and Belcher’s first.
“World championships are never easy to win,” commented Page. “You normally have to fight for them in the medal race. We are very fortunate enough not to be in that situation.”
“We are very happy - we weren’t expecting to go into the medal race 20 points in front. Luke’s misfortune was our gain unfortunately,” said Belcher. Of the 23 year old British sailors, Page added: “They showed that last year at the Worlds that they are that good, but it is a hard game and you never know when it is going to be in your favour or when it is not. It is very sad to see what happened to Luke. We’d much rather be racing him on the water and to win the battle that way rather than through equipment failure.”
The fight is fully on for the remaining podium positions between six boats - the Greek team of double 470 Junior World Champion Panagiotis Mantis and crew Pavlos Kagialis just eight points ahead of sixth placed double World Champions, Skandia Team GBR’s Nic Asher and Elliot Willis.
The second placed Greeks posted a relatively poor set of results today and were surprised to come ashore second overall. “It was strong wind again - we like that, but the results were not so good. We had very bad starts – that was the problem,” admitted crew Pavlos Kagialis.
Just one point behind behind the Greeks are Croatian defending World Champions, Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic in third. Their path up the leaderboard has been a slow burn. “It is always like that at the World Championship – you need to be patient and consistent,” said Fantela. “In the strong wind we have better speed rather than in the light. We struggled the first day a bit. The first race today we were unlucky – we broke the kicker and finished 11th. So we lost 7 points there - that would have been a big difference.”
Winners of today’s final race were Portugal’s Alvaro Marinho and Miguel Nunes, currently seventh overall. “We were lucky to win that race because the Italians [Gabrio Zandonà and Pietro Zucchetti] were leading by far but ripped their spinnaker,” recounted Marinho, the longest standing present member of the 470 Men’s class, here racing his 15th 470 World Championship. “So we managed to pass the Australians and were third on the last run and then we passed Gabrio, bad luck for him. So it was okay.”
2007 European champions, Marinho and Nunes have represented Portugal at the last three Olympic Games. They finished eighth in Beijing and haven’t sailed since until 10 days before this regatta. “So we are quite happy with this result,” said Marinho.
While the winner is decided in the Men’s class, it is anything but among the Women. Despite some formidable sailing from the defending World Champions Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout, still tenaciously hanging on, just one point ahead of the Dutch, are New Zealanders Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie.
“We are sailing pretty conservatively and trying not to stuff anything up,” said Aleh as to the secret of their success. “We have had one stuff-up this regatta, which was our DNF. Apart from that, just starting safely, no OCSs and trying to get around the course...”
The major drama in the Women’s class today came when eight boats were black flagged in the second race. Among those caught out were all the boats between third and sixth, including heavy hitters such as Italians Guilia Conti and Giovanna Micol, Britain’s Sarah Ayton and Saskia Clark and French World no1, Ingrid Petitjean and Nadège Douroux.
With Conti and Micol having won today’s first race, the black flag penalty for being over the start line early, put the Italians out of the running for gold. “We started very well winning the first race, very focussed on winning,” said Conti. “We gave everything and we came fourth in the second race, but then it was very frustrating when my coach told me about the black flag. We had no chance any more to stay in the battle for first place. So we got a little bit down.”
The warning signal for the Men’s medal races tomorrow will be at 1355 local time followed an hour later by the Women. Those not in the Hague can follow racing in the tracker or via live on-line TV.
"Optimist Team Race Day 1 Recap
The 2010 USODA Layline Nationals kicked off on Saturday with the first day of Team Racing. 110 sailors divided into 24 teams competed in a round-robin format in the first of 3 days of racing. The day started with a competitors’ meeting where the event officials, including event chairman Noel Clinard, Principle Race Officer Jim Walsh, USODA Class President Robyn Kuebel and Chief Umpire Chris Petracco addressed the skippers, parents and coaches who were assembled.
Following the competitors’ meeting the wind began to die and the race committee decided to postpone on shore until steadier winds prevailed. After nearly an hour the sea breeze began to fill and the fleet was sent to the race course.
The 24 teams took turns racing each other in the round robin. For most of the day we had SSW winds from 6-8 knots across the digital-N course. Around mid-afternoon some inclement weather appeared on the horizon and the sailors were sent in after only 24 of the 36 races planned for round one. Results will be available once a round is completed.
Racing was suspended for the rest of the day. The sailors finished their day with a debriefing session with the umpires and replenished themselves with dinner from the various food vendors on site. On Sunday the start time was moved up with the first warning scheduled for 9:30am to take advantage of the morning wind.
"Local Talent Comes Good At Worlds
Finally after an unorthodox few days off the Hague, with the wind and wave states severely disrupting the race schedule, for the first time at the Delta Lloyd 470 World Championship the organisers were able to hold three races back to back, on time, allowing crews to return to shore by mid-afternoon.
Today, day 5 of the World Championships, was when for many the ‘real’ competition began, the fleets now divided into three – gold, silver and bronze in the Men’s class and two in the smaller Women’s class. With winds starting out at 20-25 knots with gusts of up to 28 and decreasing slightly through the day as the waves began to be churned up by the tide, so crews returned to the Hague’s new International Sailing Centre soaked to the skin, salt encrusted and utterly exhausted.
470 Women
Undoubted class act of the day were defending World Champions and local heroes, the Netherland’s Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout, who won all three races in the Women’s Gold fleet.
“In these conditions we are the strongest team,” said towering blonde Berkhout. “If we have a good start and we have a good game plan and good speed, and no risk, then we end up at the top. That happened today. Everything fell in the right way.” The Dutch duo definitely looked fastest today among the Women, a combination of talent, local knowledge but also benefiting from being at the heavier end of the crew weight spectrum in the strong conditions. “We have lost some weight for this season, because we thought we could gain something in lighter conditions, but I am still really tall,” admitted Berkhout.
While Westerhof and Berkhout’s three wins have put them into the lead, they are just one point ahead of yesterday’s leaders, New Zealanders Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie. They posted a 3-2 in today’s last two races, a sound recovery after their main halyard disastrously snapped halfway up the first beat in race one. “We checked it all yesterday, but it just snapped right at the top,” explained Aleh. “We flipped it over and tried to get it back up, but it is a three person job.” They now have a ‘DNF’, blemishing a scoreline where their lowest score is otherwise a fourth.
Overall in the Women’s Gold fleet the Dutch and New Zealanders together with Italy’s Guilia Conti and Giovanna Micol, now in third, remain close, separated by seven points, the lead three now extending ahead from fourth placed Ingrid Petitjean and Nadège Douroux from France.
470 Men
In the men’s division, today’s three races have resulted in some reshuffling of the top boats. Australia’s Matt Belcher and Beijing gold medallist Malcolm Page continue to hold the top spot and a win in today’s final race has provided them with a small cushion ahead of second.
“Winning the last race was nice - good for confidence,” said Belcher. “There are still three races to go, but in this fleet you can easily come away with three 20+s. We are happy to still be in there and tomorrow we’ll keep on fighting for the lead.”
But the heroes of the day in the Men’s class were the Coster brothers Sven and Kalle from the Netherlands, who posted a 2-1-5 elevating them from 11th into third place overall and the young British pair Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell, who surprised everyone (including themselves) when they won silver at last year’s 470 World Championship in Denmark. Winning today’s first race and following it with a 5-4, has resulted in Patience and Bithell taking over second from Skandia Team GBR teammates, Nic Asher and Elliot Willis, the double World Champions now down to fifth.
“It was our conditions,” enthused Patience. “We love the breeze. We love the waves. It is something we are very confident in, so we can push a bit more and pull through the fleet if we are maybe slightly back. We had three good races – we are dead happy.”
The 23 year old Scot added that when the sea got up from race two onwards it had started to get brutal for the crew out on the trapeze wire. “It was very difficult for Stuart to not get hit by every wave, regardless of how high he was wiring. It was hard to get in the groove upwind, but if you could do that it was huge gains.”
Also on form in the Men’s gold fleet were Greece’s Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis, who since this morning have risen from 10th to lie currently fourth, just three points from second. “We like these conditions,” said Mantis, adding that they are similar to the Meltemi wind in Greece. “We have done a lot of waiting, but today it was okay – three races, good wind, we finished early. I hope the same for tomorrow.”
Similarly performing well in today’s big conditions were the experienced Italian 470 sailor Gabrio Zandonà (whose first World Championship was back in 1998) and his new crew since February, Pietro Zucchetti.
“I enjoyed myself today - it was a very good,” said Zandonà. “Conditions were really strong, but we like that. I have a very good crew now - Pietro is strong in strong wind – it is easy to sail with him.”
Tomorrow will continue with three more finals races before the medal race for the top ten on Sunday, scheduled for 1400 local. While all the races can be followed on the tracker, video from the medal race is to be broadcast live from the official Delta Lloyd 470 World Championship website.
"US Youth World Team Wins Three Bronze Medals at Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship
For the first time in 18 years, US SAILING's Youth World Team won three bronze medals at the 40th Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship today: Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) in the Laser Radial, Antoine Screve (Kentfield, Calif.) and James Moody (Tiburon, Calif.) in the 29er, and Taylor Palmer (Miami Shores, Fla.) and Mac Agnese (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) in the Sirena SL16. Today was the final day of racing for the world’s best youth sailors -- 344 sailors from 63 countries -- who battled challenging conditions and intense competition throughout the week.
“The medals don’t lie,” said Olympic Coach Leandro Spina (Miami, Fla.). “We are very happy. The whole team had a very good regatta in very challenging conditions. They were focused and disciplined, and they approached the event day by day. In the end, all our training paid off. I’m very proud of them.
“We didn’t have conditions as expected,” added Spina. “It was mostly light and shifty, and today was windy and shifty. We had very long days, and our team was able to stay focused all week long. Our good approach to the challenging conditions paid off. Discipline helps the talented sailors win.”
Reineke, a rising star in the Laser Radial class, narrowly missed silver by one point and gold by four points in a competitive 46-boat fleet. “It feels really good to medal,” said Reineke. “This is one of my peak regattas of the year. The goal was to win and I came back with a medal, so it’s a pretty big deal. Also, representing our country meant a lot to me.”
After a disappointing first day of a 13-18, she returned with new strength and confidence to finish second and grab a bullet in the third and fourth races. Reineke said this was when she knew it was all clicking. She said she reminded herself, “I know what I’m doing. I can do this. I’m back in the game.”
She credited her success to her downwind speed, which helped her gain positions, as well as her decision to not take risks in the shifty conditions. Reineke said she played it safe and stayed with the fleet, positioning herself as the leeward boat.
The next stop for Reineke, who has Olympic aspirations in the Laser Radial, is Largs, Scotland, where she will compete in the Laser Radial Youth World Championship next week. “My goal is to win and bring home a gold medal,” she said conclusively.
The San Francisco-area 29er team of Screve/Moody found the light, 5 knot-breeze and unstable conditions to be challenging this week, especially because of their size (together they weigh 140 kilograms, or 308.5 pounds).
“It was a hard medal to win,” said Screve, “The conditions didn’t favor us at all. We had to use everything in our toolkit, it in terms of skills. We had to use better tactics and strategies because we weren’t the fastest team out there. We were the underdogs, but in the end, it worked and we came out on top. It feels really good to medal.”
Screve and Moody, who have been competing and training overseas for the past month, applied valuable lessons learned from the 29er European Championship two weeks ago in Spain. They noted in Spain they were losing places on the downwind legs, so with the help of Spina, they figured out what they needed to do to improve their speed. “Here, we were one of the fastest boats on the downwind,” said Screve.
Agnese and Palmer were also thrilled with their bronze medal in the 11-boat fleet, especially considering this was the first time they had ever competed in the Sirena SL16, a multihull boat that isn’t available in the U.S. They typically train and compete in an F16 and a Hobie 16 with spinnaker. Agnese said the Sirena SL16 felt very similar to the F18, but structurally it was more similar to the Hobie 16 because it had an auto tacking jib and didn’t have a centerboard. The team also scored a major comeback this week, after being in last place going into the third day of racing.
“We were still confident in our abilities to sail well, and we did,” said Agnese, adding that one of their strengths was their positive mindset, despite the early scores. “We learned a lot about the boat really quickly and our speed was good.”
Noting that this event was one of the most prestigious regattas for youth sailors, Agnese said, “Medaling at this regatta is one of my greatest achievements. It gives me confidence going into bigger events now that I know I can podium. Hopefully I’ll be able to get up there again next year.”
“This is the first time since 1992 the U.S. has won three medals at this prestigious event, which is a true testament to the high level of rising youth talent, as well as our intense development training,” said High Performance Director/Head Coach Kenneth Andreasen (Tampa, Fla.). “I am confident in the abilities of these young sailors, and I am enthusiastic for what the future holds.”
In the Girls’ International 420 class, Marlena Fauer (New York, N.Y.) and Christina Lewis (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) finished 10th out of 28, with four top-ten finishes. In the boys’ class, Ian Liberty (Colt’s Neck, N.J.) and Colin Murphy (New York, N.Y.) finished 23rd out of 26 boats. Mateo Vargas (Treasure Island, Fla.) finished 13th out of 50 Laser Radials (boys) and Cullen Ahearn (Clearwater, Fla.) ended in 29th out of 30 in the RS:X boys class. The U.S. finished ninth overall, with France winning the coveted Volvo Trophy as the top performing nation.
For complete results, please visit the event web site: www.isafyouthworlds.com. For action shots, please visit the photo gallery. For the latest news and updates, please follow the teams on Facebook and Twitter.
Nine of the 11 youth sailors on the 2010 Youth World Team qualified based on first-place finishes in their respective classes at the 2010 US SAILING International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Youth World Qualifier in Clearwater, Fla., in January. The multihull team was chosen by resume and did not compete at the Youth World Qualifier.
Vargas, Reineke, Liberty, Fauer, Lewis, Screve, Moody and Agnese are also members of the 2010 US Sailing Development Team (USSDT), which includes young sailors identified as Olympic hopefuls in the Laser, Laser Radial, Finn, I420, 470, 29er and 49er classes. For more information about the USSDT, please visit the team page: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/Teams/2010USSDT.htm
About the US Youth World Team
The US Youth World Team is managed by the United States Sailing Association (US SAILING), the national governing body for the sport of sailing and sailboat racing. 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. For more information about US SAILING, please visit: www.ussailing.org. For more information about the US Olympic Sailing Program and the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, please visit: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org.
"Wind Up on Day Three of 470 World Championship
Fantastic conditions greeted the sailors on day three at the 2010 470 Worlds. Matthew Belcher and Malcolm Page (AUS) lead the men's fleet while Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie (NZL) top the women's leaderboard.
For the first day so far at the 2010 Delta Lloyd 470 World Championships, the wind conditions at sea in front of The Hague allowed racing to get away on time for the three groups in the Men's division and the two in the Women's. Welcome respite from Wednesday's light winds and powerful tides, the wind was typically above 10 knots, gusting up to 18 on the men's course, the tide still pushing some teams over the start line early.
Showing that this World Championship is set to be a high scoring affair, in the Men's Division France's Pierre Leboucher and Vincent Garos are the only team not to have posted a result outside of the top ten. After their perfect scoreline in three races on Wednesday, Australians Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page still hold the top spot, discarding a 15th place in the race five. After posting a 7-2 past double World Champions, Skandia Team GBR's Nic Asher and Elliot Willis hold second on equal points with Anton Dahlberg and Sebastian Östling (SWE).
'It was not a bad day," commented Asher. 'We could have gone better in the first race, but it was a tricky day - very shifty and gusty off the shore. Massively different from yesterday and downwind it was hard staying in the gusts. It was all quite close which made it quite interesting."
Racing closer to the shore and at a different part of the day, in more wind, the tide was very much less of an issue. Asher and Willis' scoreline was doubly impressive since prior to the start of the first race they had broken their kicker.
Second overall yesterday, but down to fourth today, France's Beijing bronze medallist Nicolas Charbonnier felt the conditions were more difficult than the previous day. 'I think tomorrow is windy again. So we will try and do our best, but the championship is just at the beginning, we have many, many races to complete, so we will see what will happen over the next days."
It was the shifts that caught out several of the top sailors and promoted others. Thus ISAF world ranked 23 Australians, Sam Kivell and William Ryan, and 27th ranked Germans, Jan-Jasper Wagner and Lennart Scheulfer, were among the winners in the first race of the day, while other winners included 2007 European Champions, Portugese duo alvaro Marinho and Miguel Nunes, who claimed first place in the second race.
Women's 470 World Championship
In the Women's class, there is still some consistency among the top three, where New Zealanders Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie have pulled into the lead, four points ahead of the hotly tipped Italians Giulia Conti and Giovanna Micol, who are another four in front of overnight leaders, Americans Erin Maxwell and Isabelle Kinsolving Farrar.
'It was pretty good today - it took a while to remember how to sail in over 7 knots!" commented Aleh, trying not to look too surprised at their position in the regatta. 'It was nice to have some breeze. On the reach there was bit more puff - it was much better than yesterday. In the second race we did a few silly things, but we got away with it."
ISAF World Cup Standings leaders Ingrid Petitjean and crew Nadège Douroux have had a tougher time and lie currently in an uncharacteristic 20th overall, although this will improve when a discard comes into play after five races. 'We had a very bad race and some average scores. We are not doing very well overall. We'll catch up later. It has been very small decisions either too late or not good ones and it makes a big difference in a short time."
At around 1400 local time after the second race, the boats were sent ashore. 'There was a warning for a big storm with a lot of wind and thunder. The warning was given that it would be at 1500," explained Event Director Edwin Lodder. After several boats were caught out and some damage caused when a similar prolonged squall came through on Monday afternoon bringing with it 30 knot winds, Lodder opted for prudence.
Sitting ashore mid-afternoon in blazing sunshine several sailors queried this decision as in the event the qualification series could have been completed before the torrential rain did indeed begin at around 1700 local, but without Monday's giant gusts. 'We have two kinds of weather radar - Dutch and European," explained Lodder. 'One says it will pass in an hour, the other says it will be slower." Sadly the latter proved true.
'They are being a bit cautious now: Fair enough with 180 boats, it could go pretty bad," commented Jo Aleh.
On Thursday the Men's groups will have to sail one more qualification race and the women two before they are sent back in to be divided into Gold, Silver and Bronze (for the men) fleets and sail the Finals series before the top ten compete in the Medal Race on Sunday.
Tracking - for both classes and all races - can be followed through the Delta Lloyd 470 World Championship website http://470worlds2010.com
For more information, visit the event web site: www.470worlds2010.com
"Whitman/Dorsett Win Silver at IFDS World Championship
US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) members Scott Whitman (Brick, N.J.) and Julia Dorsett (West Chester Pa./Boca Raton, Fla.) scored a silver medal in the 12-boat SKUD-18 fleet at the 2010 IFDS World Championship, held in Medemblik, The Netherlands, behind GBR’s Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell. Their final position was especially important because they also qualified the United States in the SKUD-18 class for the 2012 Paralympic Games.
Whitman and Dorsett sailed a consistently strong regatta, finishing first or second in all but two races this week. Light air was the theme of the week, except for today when it was blowing 20-30 knots. “We train in all kinds of situations, so we handled the light air really well and then did the same when the breeze picked up,” said Dorsett. “It was exciting to finally get some breeze in the afternoon today. The highlight today was our first reach at the windward mark when we were motoring.”
“Overall, we’re really happy with our performance,” said Dorsett. “We came to this Worlds looking to check our boat speed and see how we’re doing compared to the other countries. Our speed was really good.”
"Scott and Julia sailed a very solid series from start to finish,” said Betsy Alison (Newport, R.I.), the coach of the USSTAG’s Paralympic classes. “In at least three races, in which they finished second, they led around the race course and something out of their control happened to alter the results. The extensive team training camps they did with other USSTAG SKUD sailors had an impact on their speed and boat control. They remain on track as major players on the international scene."
Even though there was more pressure on the teams to perform well at this event, which also served as the country qualifier for the 2012 Games, Dorsett and Whitman stayed calm and collected throughout the week. “It’s huge,” Dorsett commented on the accomplishment. “We haven’t done that before. It’s very exciting that we came through for our country.
“We knew if we sailed the way we normally sail and do what we do best, everything would work out ok,” she explained. “We didn’t want to put added pressure on ourselves, and we felt confident we could do it.”
USSTAG sailors faced tough competition in the other two classes: 2008 Paralympian Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.) and his crew, Hugh Freund (South Freeport, Me.) and Bryan Tabler (Winter Park, Fla.), finished 12th out of 19 Sonars, and Mark LeBlanc (New Orleans, La.) finished 15th among 47 boats in the 2.4mR. The next opportunity to qualify as a country in the 2.4 mR and Sonar classes will be at the 2011 IFDS World Championship.
“The overall performance of the team at the IFDS Worlds was disappointing as we had hoped to qualify the USA in all three disciplines,” said Alison. “Our silver in the SKUD guarantees us a spot in Weymouth, but we have some work to do in the Sonar and 2.4mR. Our next big event is Sail for Gold in Weymouth in three weeks, where our sailors will work hard to post some better results.”
Please visit the USSTAG web site for action photos from the IFDS World Championship. For complete results, please visit the event web site: http://ifdsworlds2010.com. For the latest USSTAG news and updates, please follow the team on Facebook and Twitter.
USSTAG is made up of the United States’ top athletes in each of the 10 Olympic and three Paralympic classes who train together with the common goals of winning medals at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The next major event for the team is Sail for Gold, the seventh and final ISAF Sailing World Cup event in the 2009-2010 series, which is scheduled for August 8-14 in Weymouth/Portland, England, the venue of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
About the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics
The US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics is managed by the United States Sailing Association (US SAILING), the national governing body for the sport of sailing and sailboat racing. The top boats in each Olympic and Paralympic class are selected annually to be members of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. US SAILING supports these elite athletes with funding, coaching and training. The title sponsor of the team is AlphaGraphics; other sponsors include Rolex Watch USA, Atlantis WeatherGear, Sperry Top-Sider, LaserPerformance, Harken, Team McLube, Bow Down Training, New England Ropes, Group Experiential Learning and Trinity Yachts. 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. For more information about US SAILING, please visit: www.ussailing.org. For more information about the US Olympic Sailing Program and the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, please visit: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org.
"Paige Railey, Mitchell Kiss Win Bronze Medals at Laser Radial Worlds
US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics’ (USSTAG) Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) and US Sailing Development Team’s (USSDT) Mitchell Kiss (Holland, Mich.) conquered a wide range of conditions to win bronze medals in the women’s and men’s divisions, respectively, at the Laser Radial World Championship in Largs, Scotland. Yesterday’s still air was replaced by 40-knot gusts today, which caused postponements and ultimately abandonments for two days in a row. At 3 pm today, the Race Committee decided to call racing and declared the existing scores as final. The 149 sailors competing at this event quickly learned that every point counted, considering they only accomplished six races in both the men’s and women’s events, allowing only one drop score.
“Every race – every point -- was really important,” said Railey, who also won a gold medal at Kiel Week last month. She described one of the races in which she faced an unlucky shift and rounded the windward mark in 40th, but ultimately climbed her way up to 17th. “All I could think about was that I had to keep fighting, which I did. I got up to 17, which was a huge achievement for me. Every point mattered.”
Overall, Railey said she accomplished her goal of performing well in windy conditions: “The first day of the event, I was in a group of girls who are strong in the big breeze, and I won the group,” said Railey. “I have been working hard at gaining weight and getting stronger, so to come here and be the fastest girl in the big breeze was exciting.”
Coach Dennis Paaske (Kolding, Denmark) credited Railey’s success with her strong tactical decision-making and confidence. “We have been working on her strategic planning -- having a set plan about what to do for that specific race and then adapting her tactics [accordingly],” he said. “Paige had a definite plan for where she wanted to be on the course.”
Railey agreed and offered a final piece of advice for the younger sailors on the development team: “Follow your own instincts and no one else’s. And go for it.”
Railey shared the podium with Kiss, the youngest member of the US Sailing Development Team at age 15, whose bronze medal in the Men’s event was his first medal at a major international event. Kiss consistently stayed at the top of the 92-boat fleet throughout the event, thank to four top-four finishes.
“I have made great gains with my speed in breeze, and now I have to work on my fitness, strength and conditioning,” said Kiss, who has a few days to prepare for his peak event: the Laser Radial Youth World Championship for sailors under the age of 19. Racing starts Tuesday in the same venue in Largs, Scotland.
The team’s coach, Ryan Minth (New York, N.Y.), said Kiss was “rock solid off the line and making his way to the correct side of the course. In tight spots, he made it work. And in easy spots, he made it work.”
Other USSTAG and USSDT members finished the event with strong results, including USSTAG’s Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) in seventh, USSDT’s Sarah Lihan (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) in 21st and USSTAG’s Claire Dennis (Saratoga, Calif.) in 33rd. In the men’s event, Dodge Rees (Pensacola, Fla.) finished in 21st, Greg Martinez (Houston, Texas) in 28th and Carson Crain (Houston, Texas) in 39th. The male USSDT members will also all compete in the Laser Radial Youth World Championship. For complete results, please visit the event web site: http://www.laserworlds2010.co.uk/laserworlds/.
"A Different Leader In Every Class, Day 1 Of The 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Champs
In contrast to the wet and unstable conditions of the practice race the opening days racing provided a light breeze of 5 - 7 knots from the north-west and warm dry conditions once the early clouds had dispersed.
The first starts were scheduled for 12:00 local time (15:00) UTC but most fleet were only able to complete two races with the breeze fading during the afternoon. The 29ers however did manage to complete the schedule of three short races.
At the end of the day there are eight different nations leading each of the eight classes and the battle for the Volvo Trophy for the best performing nation is very close between Poland, Spain, Denmark and Great Britain.
The two RS:X windsurfing fleets were the first to return ashore after two races. In the RS:X boys division. WONWOO Cho of Korea has started his campaign in great form winning both races.
"It was very light winds, the first race about seven knots but dropping in the second. I finished first in both races so I am very happy"
"In the first race I broke a batten but managed to fix it. I have been getting good starts. We have the same conditions in Pusan where I come from so I like these conditions."
At the end of day one, second spot overall is held by the Spaniard Mateo Sanz who scored two second places and third position by the current RS:X Youth European championship bronze medallist Omer Sofer (ISR).
In the girls RS:X fleet it was another young Israeli sailor, ofir Halevy, the current RS:X Youth European champion, who sailed two commanding performances to score two bullets in the light conditions. Coming from Telaviv she also enjoyed similar sailing conditions as she is used to at home.
"I won the first race and the second, for me its perfect conditions, the races were really long and I am tired but I am ready for tomorrow."
Isobel Hamilton (GBR) who battled with Ofir all the way down to the wire for the title at the recent RS:X Youth Europeans, sits in silver position here in Istanbul with two second places. Making up the podium is Laerke Buhl-hansen from Denmark.
In the 28 boat 420 girls fleet, khairulnizam Mohd afendy and Ameira Izla Zulkefli of Malaysia came ashore quite surprised by their opening day, skipper Khairunnisa explains,
"I have just trained with my new crew for one week, we didn't come here to win medals or anything, we just came to get experience."
In a competitive 420 boys fleet of 30 boats the Japanese pair of Hiroki Yamaguchi and Tetsuya Isozaki scored two straight bullets to take an early lead in the light airs from the Spanish crew of Jordi Xammar and Joan Herp who finished the day on seven points, two points clear of Jao Villas Boas and Tomas Camelo of Portugal.
Despite being one of the heavier crews in the 18 boat 29er fleet Henry Lloyd williams and Samuel Batten started their championship with a consistent 4,2,1 score line to end the day in the lead from the French pairing of Gael Jaffrezic and Julien Bloyet and the kiwis Alexandra Maloney and Sam Bullock who were unfortunate to snag a plastic bag whilst leading which dropped them a number of places to end the second race with an 11th place. They recovered in the third race of the day to finish in bronze spot on the podium after the first day of racing
Henry Lloyd Williams said, "We had a good consistent day, we are happy with our results but we have a lot of work to do to hold our position. There were some gusty patches and holes in the wind which made for some interesting racing."
After the practice race day yesterday, there was a change to the course areas for the two laser fleets. The Laser Radial course was swapped with the 420 and SL16 catamarans so that the single-handed sailors did not have sail as far from the venue.
The first day saw the young Italian sailor in the Laser Radial boys fleet Giovanni Coccoluto and the host nations competitor, Turkish LEVENT Ahiskali go head to head. Both snatched a first and second place with Kiwi Thomas Saunders in third. The Lasers only managed to fit in two races before the fickle wind conditions prevailed.
World Cup Final fever hit the dinghy park today and in the Laser Radial girls class the Spanish sailor Patricia Coro and the Dutch Michelle Broekhuizen battled it out in the first race. Broekhuizen led for the majority of the race, but Coro eventually pipped her to the post by winning the race. "She may have won on the water today," said Broekhuizen. "But we will win tonight at the match!"
In the second race of the day Broekhuizen dropped to 16th ending the day in 8th overall. Coro finished with a 10th in the second race to be in the bronze position after day one but consistent results scored by the Polish girl, Paulina Barwinska and Chiara Steinmüller of Germany gave these two girls the top two spots.
The Danish brother and sister team of Nicolaj and Daniel Bjornholt and the French crew of Antoine Dijou and Guillaume Le Croq had a good start to the championship in the SL16 Sirena fleet of 11 boats ending the day on equal points, three points clear of the Australian team Chase Lurati and Paul Darmanin.
The RS:X fleets have the opportunity to attend a post-race briefing hosted by ISAF Coach Kristine Roug (DEN) and four time Olympic medallist Alessandra Sensini (ITA) accompanied by a replay of the race from the live tracking service which the RS:X boards were using today.
Race tracking is used for a different fleet each day and can be viewed at: www.onlineracetrack.net
Racing resumes for all classes at 12.00 hrs local (15:00) UTC with an advance forecast of similar conditions.
For results and more details on the 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship visit: www.isafyouthworlds.com
Please note that results are provisional as there are outstanding protest decisions pending
For more details on the 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship visit: www.isafyouthworlds.com
Link to the Volvo Youth Worlds Facebook site: www.facebook.com/pages/Volvo-Youth-Worlds/93806273347
For videos visit the Volvo Youth Worlds YouTube site: www.YouTube.com/VolvoYouthWorlds
For a full list of entries visit: http://www.isafyouthworlds.com/editions/2010/entry
Schedule
Thursday 8 July - Arrival Day
Friday 9 July - Training Day and Opening Ceremony
Saturday 10 July - Practice Day
Sunday 11 July - First Official Race Day (3 raced scheduled)
Monday 12 July - Second Official Race Day (3 races scheduled)
Tuesday 13 July - Lay Day
Wednesday 14 July - Third Official Race Day (3 races scheduled)
Thursday 15 July - Fourth Official Race Day (2 races scheduled)
Friday 16 July - Fifth Official Race Day (1 race scheduled) and Prize Giving and Closing Ceremony
Saturday 17 July - Departure Day
"Anna Tunncliffe on Laser Radial Worlds: Tricky First Race in Gold Fleet
I had another good day on the water, finishing 2nd in the only race of the day at the 2010 Radial World Championships. It was the first race in the Gold fleet racing, and what a tricky race it was.
The forecasted direction was for a south easterly going south westerly, but for some reason, here in Largs, the wind doesn't like to go to the east; rather, it seems to prefer to stay in the north to north east. This meant that the forecasted wind would happen at some point in the day, it was just a matter of when. We headed out for racing at the normal time, but found, once we got out there, the wind swinging through about 50 degrees, so the race committee held off for an hour while the wind stabilized. It finally settled and we got off a start after three general recalls. In the hour postponement prior to the race, I sailed around to make sure I was keeping in check with what the wind was doing relative to the clouds that were on the course. By the time we finally got off the start line, I had a good feeling as to what I wanted to do on the race course and was able to do it.
I started just down from the boat end of the line, and tacked fairly shortly after the gun. I sailed on port tack (out to the right) for a very long time towards some clouds and then tacked just shy of layline. As I came back across, I wasn't sure I was going to cross the fleet entirely, but the more I sailed towards the mark, the more promising it looked. One boat crossed in front of me, coming in from far left, and the boats that rounded the top mark right behind me also came from the left hand side of the course. At that point, the wind was beginning to drop a little and was starting to swing to the right. Downwind the wind dropped quite a bit as a rain squall started to head our way. Since there were no waves to surf downwind, to occupy myself, I divided my time between the course and a funnel cloud forming over the hills. It almost touched down before it dissipated again, luckily before it got to our race course. I rounded the bottom mark in second place, and from there held on as the wind finally swung to the east and then to the south east for the end of our race.
The breeze died completely after the rain squall passed, and the race committee sent us in for the day around 4pm. It felt quite satisfying to start the Gold fleet off with a good result. The plan is to try for three races tomorrow when we have much better breeze forecasted. You can check the results out online at the regatta website.
We would like to thank Carmeuse and Trinity Yachts for their continued support of our campaign for the 2012 Olympics in London. We would also like to thank US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) and its sponsors for their support.
Sail Hard,
Anna
Team Tunnicliffe
www.annatunnicliffe.com
"Tulloch Prevails Over Barkow in Thrilling U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship Final
US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) member and defending U.S. Women’s Match Racing Champion (USWMRC) Genny Tulloch (San Francisco, Calif.), successfully defended her title by edging former USSTAG member and 2005 USWMR Champion Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) in the Finals. It took all five races to decide a champion as Tulloch held off a hard charging Barkow in a first-to-win-three-races Finals format. The USWMRC is a US SAILING National Championship event.
In the finals, Barkow drew first blood with Tulloch who gained a penalty for not keeping clear. Tulloch was able to shed the penalty on the second upwind leg and stay ahead for the win. Trailing 1-0, Barkow came back and won the next two. However, Team Tulloch rallied to win the final two races to capture her second career USWMRC title. According to Tulloch, “Our speed was up or down – I think it depended on how hard we were hiking or depowered. We were hiking hard at the end.”
During the post-race press conference, Barkow explained, “We tried to fight back hard and do something the last two legs with both penalties, but we didn’t have enough to make it happen,” explained Barkow. “I thought we had good starts and good upwind speed,” she added.
“It was really tough racing. Both teams (Barkow and Roble) were really fast upwind," Tulloch said. "We were just trying to hold on for the two races we lost in the middle and then we were do-or-die for the last two and drew penalties against her (Barkow) the last two and won across the line.”
"We got a little better with our upwind speed as the day went on. We were really on fire in terms of communication," Tulloch added.
The former College Sailor of the Year was joined by USSTAG teammate and crew Alice Manard (Charleston, S.C.), Lindsay Bartel (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) and Karina Vogen Shelton (Watsonville, Calif.). Team Tulloch defeated USSTAG teammate Anna Tunnicliffe in last year’s finals, after losing to Tunnicliffe in the 2008 finals. Tulloch is currently ninth in the ISAF Women’s Match Racing world rankings.
Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) returned to the USWMRC for the first time since winning the event in 2005. Barkow has been a busy match racer as of late. She is 11th in the ISAF Women’s Match Racing world rankings.
Tulloch advanced to the Finals by defeating Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wis.) this morning in a best-of-three semifinal series, 2-1. Barkow blanked Maegan Ruhlman (Cleveland, Ohio) in the semifinals, 2-0. Ruhlman finished in third place by defeating Roble in the Petit Finals, 2-0.
Prior to the start of the event, skippers were pre-ranked using the ISAF Match Race Sailing Rankings. The win gives Tulloch the opportunity to represent the U.S. at the ISAF Nations Cup Series on Sept. 13-18, 2011.
US SAILING's U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship, hosted by the US Sailing Center of Sheboygan and sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A. and Gill North America, was race in Sonars on Lake Michigan. Visit the event website at http://championships.ussailing.org/Adult/USWMRC.htm for final results, daily recaps, photos and more.
"Anna Tunnicliffe: Gearing For Laser Radial World Championships
Scotland has lived up to everything everyone has told me. The scenery is amazingly beautiful, but it rains frequently. The water is quite cold, but the wind provides fantastic sailing. I have been here in Largs for the last week and a half, training to get ready for the 2010 Laser Radial World Championships.
After Kiel, I flew to England to visit my relatives for a couple of days before I got my boat up in Scotland. I arrived in Scotland on 27th June and got settled in on my uncle’s boat just up the coast. Halfway through training, I moved to a Bed and Breakfast in the town of Largs.
Largs is a small seaside town with a small population. I think our regatta has almost doubled the size of the town, but everyone here is very friendly and welcoming. In the evenings, there isn’t a lot to do, but there is a bowling alley that has been showing the world cup soccer games; so between bowling and soccer, we have been thoroughly entertained. Even though I don’t have my team with me, I have been keeping up the ice cream superstition at the local ice cream parlor.
I have had my boat since the 28th and have been sailing hard since. Unfortunately, the first day of sailing, there was no wind so we drifted out to the race area and drifted back to the shore. It was nice to get back in the Laser Radial and get a feel for things before the breeze came the next day.
The next day, Team USA got together and did some training over the following couple of days. We had winds anywhere from 12 knots up to 25+kts, and as a team, we all improved our speed and fitness in preparation for the regatta. Along with our USSTAG team coach Dennis Paaske, Brad Funk, my husband, was here coaching me and getting me back up to speed as much as he could. Brad worked hard with the whole team on the big breeze set ups and technique. It was also great to see him for a week before we went our separate ways for a couple of weeks. He is currently in Turkey coaching the ISAF Youth World Championships.
It has been good getting to know Dennis and work with him a bit before the regatta starts. He has a lot of knowledge on race course tactics and I’m really looking forward to learning from him while I’m here. Training ended today with a short session to break in my new sail and practice some last minute skills. The regatta starts tomorrow, and you can follow on the regatta website .
We would like to thank Carmeuse and Trinity Yachts for their continued support of our campaign for the 2012 Olympics in London. We would also like to thank US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) and its sponsors for their support.
Sail Hard,
Anna
Team Tunnicliffe
http://www.annatunnicliffe.com
"Storck/Moore Report on 49er Europeans: 'Long, Hard First Day of Gold Fleet Racing'
We were on the water for nearly six hours as the race committee fought to get ahead of schedule in the final series. The wind began much like the past two days, but quickly died out. Shortly after dying, a new onshore breeze filled in and built to near 20 knots. The biggest difference now was the waves, which became hazardous.
We had four decent races, and we are now in 20th overall. It was not our best day, but we are happy to have gained some invaluable experience in conditions that we will surely see more of in the future. We scored a 16-21-OCS-12 in the 25-boat gold fleet. Often in the race, we lost a few boats at the very end of our downwind legs, both going into the gate marks and before the finish. It is crucial to keep the boat fast at these times, but tempting to ease up and “soak” down at the end. We did have a solid race when we were OCS, and we can now say that we have had one. It’s important to push it!
We are very tired after an incredibly long day, but we will be ready for more come Friday. Four races remain before the medal race, and we intend to make the most of them.
There are video highlights of each day’s racing going up here.
Thanks to all of our supporters, and thanks to the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics.
Stay Tuned!
Erik
Storck Moore Sailing
http://storckmooresailing.com
"Sail Sheboygan Welcomes Match Racing's Best at U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship
The US Sailing Center of Sheboygan welcomes eight elite teams for this week’s U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship (USWMRC), a US SAILING National Championship and an ISAF Grade 3 event. Defending champion and US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) member Genny Tulloch returns to compete in her third consecutive USWMRC. She joins a talented roster of teams who will race in Sonars on Lake Michigan for the right to hoist the Allegra Knapp Mertz Trophy. Racing begins this Thursday and runs through Sunday (July 8-11).
Tulloch (San Francisco, Calif.), a former College Sailor of the Year, will be joined by USSTAG teammate and crew Alice Manard (Charleston, S.C.), along with Lindsay Bartel (Chagrin Falls, Ohio). Team Tulloch defeated USSTAG teammate Anna Tunnicliffe in last year’s finals, after losing to Tunnicliffe in the 2008 finals. Tulloch is currently ninth in the ISAF Women’s Match Racing world rankings.
US SAILING’s 2007 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year and former USSTAG member, Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) returns to the USWMRC for the first time since winning the event in 2005. Barkow also won as a crewmate for Corrie Clement in 2000. Barkow has been a busy match racer as of late. She is 11th in the ISAF Women’s Match Racing world rankings. Barkow finished third at the Princess Sofia this year, an ISAF Sailing World Cup event.
Former USSTAG member Katy Lovell (New Orleans, La.) will compete in her sixth consecutive USWMRC. Lovell has come close to claiming the title on several occasions. She finished third last year and second in 2007, 2006 and 2005.
Skippers will be pre-ranked using the ISAF Match Race Sailing Rankings. The highest placing eligible skipper will represent the U.S. at the ISAF Nations Cup Series on Sept. 13-18, 2011.
The event will consist of the following stages:
Stage 1 - Double Round Robin: Each skipper will race against each other skipper twice.
Stage 2 - Knock out series for skippers placed 5-8 after Stage 1. Those placed fifth and sixth will sail for fifth place and those placed seventh and eighth will sail for seventh place. The first to score two points will determine their final positions.
Stage 3 - Semi Final: The four highest placing skippers from the round robins qualify for the Semi Finals. The skipper placing first in the qualifying round robins can select her opponent. The remaining skippers will race each other. The first skippers to score at least two points will proceed to the Final series.
Stage 4 - Petit Final knock out series: The first skipper to score at least two points will place third in the regatta. The losing skipper will place fourth.
Stage 5 - Final Series: The first skipper to score at least three points will be the champion. The losing skipper will place second.
US SAILING’s U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship is sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A. and Gill North America. Visit the event website for the full list of competitors, standings, daily recaps, photos and more.
"Storck/Moore Report: 49er Europeans in Gydnia, Poland
We had another puffy, shifty, offshore breeze for the final two qualifying races at the Europeans. We scored a 12-13, and we are now in 18th overall. It was a truly challenging day on the water, and we showed we are nearly there at the top. In both races, we were in the top five on the third and final lap!
We had two good starts, enabling us to sail our own race from the start. This proved highly valuable, as the puffs coming off of the shore on the left side allowed us to get across the course ahead of nearly all the boats on the right. We had solid boat-handling all the way around the course on the first race, just to get caught on the wrong side of one shift on the final beat. We lost five boats in the blink of an eye. I guess
that’s sailboat racing!
In another highlight, we carried a Velocitek GPS Speed Puck on our boat today. These units are owned by the 49er class and used for the annual Seiko Speed Challenge. Seiko, our class sponsor, gives $5,000 and two watches to the team that clocks the fastest time over the course of the season. With flat water and big breeze, we were excited to have the unit. We came in as the fastest of the 3 boats with a puck at 20.3 knots! Now imagine going those speeds with 40 other boats around!
The results are posted here. Also, there are video highlights of each day’s racing going up.
As always, thanks to all of our supporters, and thanks to the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. Check out the USSTAG website for an announcement to the 2012 Olympic Selection Process.
Stay tuned for reports from the Gold Fleet at the European Championship!
Erik
Storck Moore Sailing
http://storckmooresailing.com
"US Sailing Announces Selection Procedures for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials
US SAILING’s Olympic Sailing Committee (OSC) has finalized the selection procedures for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team – Sailing in the 10 events selected for the 2012 Olympic Regatta, set for July 27- August 12, 2012 in Weymouth/Portland, England. Athletes will have the opportunity to qualify based on their combined performance at two international events: Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta, in Weymouth/Portland, England, scheduled for June 5-11, 2011, and the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Sailing World Championship, in Perth, Australia, scheduled for December 3-18, 2011. The exception is the Women’s Match Racing event, which will have two separate qualifying regattas, available to U.S. athletes only: one in Miami, Florida in October, 2011, and another in Weymouth, England in spring 2012 (dates to be announced).
“The Olympic Sailing Program’s primary mission is to field a team of athletes most capable of achieving success at the Olympic Games, and we believe this new system gives us the greatest chance of achieving that mission in 2012,” said Dean Brenner (Wallingford, Conn.), the Chairman of the OSC, which consists of volunteers, staff and Olympic and Paralympic class athletes. “The world of Olympic class competition has evolved dramatically in the last ten years, and our selection system needed to evolve as well.”
To read an interview with Brenner about the new selection procedures, please visit: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/News/2010/Selection_Procedures_Interview.htm
The 10 sailing events selected for the 2012 Olympic Games are: Finn (Heavyweight Dinghy); Laser Radial (Women’s One Person Dinghy); Laser (Men’s One Person Dinghy); 470 Men (Men’s Two Person Dinghy); 470 Women (Women’s Two Person Dinghy); 49er (Men’s Two Person Dinghy High Performance); RS:X (Men’s Windsurfer); RS:X (Women’s Windsurfer); Star (Men’s Keelboat); and Elliott 6m (Women’s Match Racing).
US SAILING will send a maximum of one boat per event, pending country qualification, to the 2012 Olympic Games for a maximum team size of 16. Upon approval from the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), the qualifying athletes will be named to the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team – Sailing and will compete in the Olympic Regatta. The Olympic Regatta will be held July 27 – August 12, 2012, in the towns of Weymouth and Portland, which are located on the southern coast of England, approximately 120 miles southwest of London.
All selection procedures have been reviewed and approved by the USOC Team Selection Working Group. For additional details about the selection procedures for the 2012 Olympic Team - Sailing, please visit http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/Games/Olympics/Selection.htm. The selection procedures for the 2012 U.S. Paralympic Team – Sailing are currently being finalized and will be announced soon.
"Kristine Roug Appointed As Championship Coach For 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing World Champs
Two-time Olympic medallist and Volvo Ocean Race competitor Santiago LANGE of Argentina has been appointed as the Championship coach for this year's Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship, taking place in Buzios, Brazil from 9-18 July.
Olympic gold medallist and three time Europe Class World Champion, Kristine Roug of Denmark has been appointed as the Championship Coach for the 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship, taking place in Istanbul, Turkey from 8-17 July 2010.
More than 340 of the world's best young sailors representing 62 nations will gather in Istanbul next week for the 40th edition of the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship. The Youth Worlds is renowned for giving the sailing world a hint of its future champions with past medallists including Russell Coutts, Ben Ainslie, Alessandra Sensini and Robert Scheidt but is also a global celebration of youth sailing and a unique learning experience for the young sailors who have been chosen to represent their nation.
A key figure in this educational-side to the Youth Worlds is the championship coach and this year the competitors in Istanbul will have the opportunity to learn from world-famous Danish sailor Kristine Roug.
Kristine Roug said: "It's a real honour to be appointed as championship coach for the 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship. I attended the Youth Worlds in Madeira in 2003 as a national coach and have worked as a coach for many years, training sailors from lots of different countries and at all levels of skill."
"This will be my first visit to Istanbul and I am really looking forward to working with so many young, talented sailors from all over the world. They are the future of our sport and it is a fantastic championship. "
The championship coach, whose appointment is funded by ISAFs World Youth Sailing Trust, provides coaching to the sailors at the Youth Worlds whose nations have been unable to send support staff to the championship, in particular to those sailors competing thanks to funding support from the ISAF Athlete Participation Programme (APP). The APP sailors gets the benefit of daily briefings from the championship coach, whilst all competitors can attend the video debrief sessions held at the end of each day's racing.
Kristine Roug is one of Denmark's most famous sailing names, making Olympic history for her country back in 1996 when she became the first Danish woman to win an Olympic gold medal in sailing, the first for a Danish woman in any sport for nearly 50 years.
Roug was just 21 years old when she won the women's one person dinghy gold medal sailing the Europe and already had three World Champion titles under her belt. In 1994 she won both the Europe World Championship and the IYRU Sailing World Championship in the Laser Radial. She continued to dominate the Europe Class, winning her second world title in 1995.
Her success continued after the Olympic Games and Roug completed her set of Europe World Championship medals, winning the silver in 1997 and the bronze in 1998 before claiming her third world title in 2000. In 1998 she also successfully defended her IYRU Sailing World Championship title, claiming the gold in the Laser Radial in 1998 in Dubai.
Roug's achievements were acknowledged by her nomination to the ISAF World Sailor of the Year Awards in 1994, 1995 and 1996.
Antonio Gonzalez de la Madrid, ISAF Competitions Manager and Technical Delegate for the 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship, said, "I am very pleased to welcome Kristine Roug to the 2010 Youth Worlds. Kristine is a world-class sailor and an excellent role model for our young sailors. I am sure she will be a great inspiration to all the competitors."
The primary focus of the championship coach will be the APP sailors, however, assistance is available to all those who would like it, including team leaders, coaches and competitors.
The comprehensive coaching support will include:
Pre-event Preparation -
Self preparation
Boat Preparation - including Boat Handling - Boat Tuning
Race Strategy - including Starting Tactics, Racing Rules, Compass Work, Meteorology
Preview the Sailing Instructions
Video Debriefs daily by Classes -
The video debriefs have proved a valuable element of the coaching given to the competitors, and for many it is the first time they have been able to post-race view themselves on the water and receive coaching instruction and advice.
The World Youth Sailing Trust funds the appointment of the championship coach at each edition of the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship. The Trust is a charitable organization of ISAF members, who focus their support towards youth events.
Find out more on the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship at www.isafyouthworlds.com
"49er European Championship Underway in Gdynia
Champions and aspiring Olympians are preparing for battle at the 49er European Championship, taking place in Gdynia, Poland, with racing taking place from 5 - 10 July.
The starting line will be spectator and media friendly with the newly instituted country flags on all mainsails as well the ability to quickly identify the top 10 in the 49er world by their sail number 1-10, as well as personal sail numbers which sailors have been allowed to choose for one year use. These two editions will make identifying the fleet relatively easier and more exciting.
Fresh off their win at the latest ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta in Kiel, John Pink and Richard Peacock of Great Britain are bidding to win the European title as well as current Sailing World Cup leaders Nico Delle - Karth and Nikolaus Resch of Austria. French sailors Emmanuel Dyen and Stéphane Christidis have two 2010 World Cup titles from Miami and Palma while Paul Brotherton and Mark Asquith from Great Britain hold the title from Hyeres.
Close to 100 entries have been received including a new team to the 49er world from Malta. Skipper Benji Borg with crew Sebastian Ripard will represent the island nation training to gain a berth for the 2012 Olympics.
The event looks to be a key stop on the way to the last ISAF Sailing World Cup event in August and no doubt the event to watch in Poland this week.
For more information, go to: www.49er.org or www.49ereuropeans.org
All photos for this event can be viewed at: http://photos.friedbits.com/201049ereuropeanchampionship
"Team USA (Barking Mad & Bliksem) Finish 3rd in Sardinia Challenge Trophy
Team Germany has taken victory in the Audi Sardinia Cup 2010, the ISAF Offshore Team World Championship.
The event, organized biennially by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda since 1978, saw eight teams representing seven nations competing for the coveted Sardinia Challenge Trophy. Each team was composed of a Farr 40 and a Melges 32, Wolfgang Schaefer's Farr 40 Struntje Light represented Germany together with the Melges 32 Teasing Machine, owned by Jean Francois Cruette.
Due to an almost total lack of wind off the north east coast of Sardinia no racing took place yesterday and, despite a long wait for the teams on the water, the same was true of today. The overall classification at the conclusion of the event which took place from 28 June to 3 July has therefore remained unchanged since Thursday 1 July when the fleet had completed five windward leeward races and a coastal race.
Schaefer commented on his team's victory: "We are proud and happy, it is an honour to take victory in the Audi Sardinia Cup for the German team since the last time the trophy went to Germany was in 1994. We had a great team and we had a lot of fun even if today's long wait was tough on our nerves. The Sardinia Cup is always a great experience and we hope the next edition will be another great success for the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda."
Rather less happy with the lack of wind over the past two days were second-placed team Italy 2, composed of the Farr 40 Joe Fly owned by Giovanni Maspero and the Melges 32 B Lin Sailing owned by Luca Lalli. Together with the rest of the fleet they would have liked to have had the chance to regain some ground on Germany. Third place went to team USA made up of Jim Richardson's Farr 40 Barking Mad, and the Melges 32 Bliksem, owned by Pieter Taselaar.
During the prize giving held in the YCCS' Piazza Azzurra this afternoon the Commodore of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, Riccardo Bonadeo, together with Marketing Director of Audi Italia Michele Migliorini and Chairman of the Offshore Racing Congress Bruni Finzi awarded prizes to the top three classified teams and the challenge trophy to Germany.
For further details visit: www.yccs.it
Audi Sardinia Cup Overall Team Results:
1- GERMANY: STRUNTJE LIGHT (3,6,6,1,1,1 =18 ); TEASING MACHINE (3,3,1,4,4,1 =16): Total pts. 34
2- ITALY 2: Farr 40 JOE FLY (1,5,3,5,3,5 =22); Melges 32 B-LIN (1,1,7,5,1,7 =22): Total pts. 44
3- USA: BARKING MAD (7,3,4,2,2,2=20); BLIKSEM (2,6,5,3,6,5=27): Total pts. 47
4- ITALY: NERONE (5,2,1,4,4,6=22); FANTASTICA (7,7,4,2,2,4=26): Total pts. 48
5- MALTA: ENFANT TERRIBLE (4,1,2,6,DSQ,4 =26); RUSH DILETTA (4,5,3,1,DSQ,2= 24): Total pts. 50
6- MONACO: PLENTY (2,4,5,3,5,7 = 26); AUDI GIACOMEL (6,2,2,8,DSQ,8 =35): Total pts. 61
7- UNITED KINGDOM: MANGUSTA RISK (8,7,8,7,6,3=39); NGONI (5,4,8,6,5,6=34): Total pts. 73
8- SWITZERLAND: VANITAS CUBE (6,8,7,8,7,8= 44); I.NOVA 2 (8,8,6,7,3,3=35): Total pts. 79
"Close Finish At The Medal Races Of The RS:X Open Youth Europeans
It was an action packed last day at the RS:X Open Youth European Windsurfing Championship. The key ingredient to make it all happen was wind. It had to kick in early and stay for a while. Sadly, the wind gods were busy somewhere else first thing and only made a half-hearted effort to accommodate the regatta late in the day.
The schedule called for a 1000hrs start for the youth men's medal race. The actual start time was closer to 1330hrs. At least the wind was stable and coming from one direction, however it only managed a feeble 4-5 knots.
Perfect conditions for Ofir Halevy [ISR] and the very opposite for the current RS:X Youth World Champion, Liz Hamilton (GBR). These two have been duelling all week and Ofir certainly was not going to give up without fighting to the very end, This she did finishing second in the youth women's medal race behind her compatriot Laura Kishon. Izzy finished sixth scoring 12 points. Her six point cushion was blown and some. She ceded the gold medal to Ofir. Still they will probably meet again in Istanbul at the Volvo Youth ISAF World Championships in a few days. It will be a fascinating battle of wills which Laerke Buhl-hansen [DEN] will no doubt want to a part of.
Over in the men's fleet the titanic battle between Amir Galili [ISR] and Omer Sofer [ISR] for gold was interrupted by Arkadiusz Brzozowski [POL] who stormed through to snatch gold by winning the medal race. Omer Sofer was his normal consistent self but it was not good enough. Amir blew his chances by putting in one of his worst results. Fifth gave him 10 points and a clear third place.
Whilst all this drama was being played out on the race course the Sopot Sailing Club was smoothly handing the registration procedures for the RS:X European Championships which start at the weekend
For more details visit: www.rsxclass.com
"USSDT's 29ers Set to Compete at Europeans
Five U.S. teams, including four US Sailing Development Team (USSDT) members, are set to compete at the 29er European Championship this week. Racing begins Thursday for the114 teams from 15 nations. The U.S. teams are: Mac Agnese/ Tim Zenderman, Antoine Screve/James Moody, Katy Cenname/Helena Scutt, Alek Nilsen/ Finn Nilsen, and Chanel Miller/ CC Childers.
International 29er Class Association press release:
Sant Pere Pescador, Spain (June 30, 2010) -- The 2010 edition of the 29er Europeans in Sant Pere Pescador, Spain is preparing to name a new champion – with the current World Champions Kevin Fischer and Glenn Gouron of France in attendance as well as many teams preparing for the ISAF Youth Worlds, competition is stiff.
With 114 teams representing 15 nations, the waters of the Mediterranean will be teaming with anticipation when racing begins on July 1. The British squad is the largest country represented with 23 teams followed by the host nation Spain with 16.
With the 29er named as the ISAF Youth World open boat for the ISAF Youth Worlds, many youth teams are in attendance to practice their skills including teams from outside Europe including the New Zealand team of Alexandra Malone and Sam Bullock and the United States with 5 teams including their ISAF Youth World representatives.
Registration and measurement are currently taking place with formal racing to begin. Thursday, July 1.
For more information, go to: www.29er.org or www.29ereuropeans.org
All photos for this event can be viewed at: http://photos.friedbits.com/201029ereuropeanchampionship
Editors: high resolution photos available; contact Jerelyn Biehl; jerelyn@odmsail.com; for permission coupon code.
"Mission Bay YC Duo Takes Home U.S. Jr. Women's Doublehanded Championship
Shifty winds posed challenges for the 40 teams competing at the U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship during Wednesday’s final day of racing. It was a gorgeous day on Hingham Bay as the girls battled for the rights to claim the Ida Lewis Trophy. In the end, the team of Kate Rackelly (Carlsbad, Calif./Mission Bay YC) and Colleen Hackett (El Cajon, Calif./Mission Bay YC) prevailed with another impressive showing today.
The California duo stayed on pace and held their lead from yesterday by posting a bullet in race 8 this morning. They secured the win by finishing third in race 9, the final race of the championship. Rackelly and Hackett won by a seven point margin and tallied 22 points through nine races. Over the final seven races of the event, they never finished a race lower than third (3-2-1-1-3-1-3).
“We really did our homework,” said Rakelly. “Before the races we looked at wind and current to create a plan. Learning from the coaches really helped us too. This was really a well run event.”
Runners-up, Erin Mullins (E. Greenwich, R.I./Greenwich Bay Sailing Association) and Erica Lush (Jamestown, R.I./Conanicut YC) put up a serious fight over the final two days of the championship. They won race 9 and finished third in race 8. The Rhode Islanders didn’t finish below third over the final four races of the event (2-1-3-1). Finishing third was the hard charging team of Holly Tullo (Staten Island, N.Y./Lauderdale YC) and Haley Fox (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./BLAST/LYC) who posted a pair of fourth place finishes today.
Competitors had steady breezes in race 8; however, race 9 began with one general recall followed by an abandoned race due to wind shifts, at which point the race committee completely changed position.
“The Hingham Yacht Club was a great host,” said Frank Ustach, US SAILING’s Junior National Coach. Ustach also mentioned the great volunteers and coaches who worked together smoothly, as keys to the event’s success. “Working with the girls and seeing their progress is what I enjoyed most,” said Ustach. “It was a great group of girls and a great event.”
Visit the event website at http://championships.ussailing.org/Youth/USJrWomensDoublehanded.htm for daily recaps, results, photos and more. This championship is sponsored by LaserPerformance and supported by the C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Trust.
- Race recap content provided by Charlotte Robinson.
Pos. Skipper Results Total Points
1. Rakelly/Hackett: 8-[14]-3-2-1-1-3-1-3 22
2. Mullins/Lush: 5-6-4-7-[16]-2-1-3-1 29
3. Tullo/Fox: [27]-1-8-5-11-5-14-4-4 52
4. Schluter/Isler: 16-4-1-6-14-[20]-5-2-5 53
5. Hall/Perry: 4-2-13-10-4-3-8-11-[19] 55
"Gilmour Wins Battle Of The Aussies At Portugal Match Cup
Finals day for Stage 4 of the ISAF World Match Racing Tour produced an all Australian final with Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team yet again taking on the icon of match racing, Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing.
The 'Perth Prodigy', 24 year old Mirsky, did not defend his Portugal Match Cup title from last year as the Master, Gilmour, taught his apprentice a few new lessons and stepped into the spotlight as the 2010 Portimão Portugal Match Cup Champion.
A glowing Peter Gilmour was almost lost for words, "It was all about the starts out there, we managed to win the last two starts giving us a good lead on both finals races".
The semi finals greeted eager teams with an oscillating 8 - 10 knot wind, conditions suited Torvar Mirsky who slam dunked Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 3-0 and Gilmour grasped the glory from current ISAF Match Racing World Champion, Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing, also gliding through on 3-0. Minoprio then went on to take third overall much to the disappointment of Williams.
As the Fremantle Doctor style breeze blew in for finals frenzy, the racers, both skippers originally from Perth, felt a nostalgia for home and with a 'first to 2 point final' the pressure was instantaneous. The wind then moderated and returned to the testing Mediterranean style shifts commonly experienced on this year's Tour. This kept both Gilmour and Mirsky on their toes to the bitter end with Gilmour winning the deciding third match from a port entry.
Mirsky was humorous at the relaxed dance floor prize giving chatting to the crowd, "They showed us how to do it we learnt a lot about our starts today and my team are stoked, this is the best result so far on the Tour this year".
There is now a mixture of movements in the overall World Match Racing Tour 2010 standings. Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team before Portimão sat on high with 65 points, a supreme 26 points in front of his nearest rival Minoprio. Richard was then ironically knocked out at the Quarter Final stage yesterday in an unexpected last minute lunge to the line by Minoprio. Minoprio closes the gap slightly on Richard as he moves into third with 48 points overall. Gilmour shoots up from eighth to fourth with 43 points, closely followed by Williams who finishes on 42 points.
The Tour now turns its focus to Stena Match Cup Sweden starting in eight days on 5 July.
Mirsky finished off by saying,
"Sweden is our home from home as I currently live there and the team join me to train. It will be an awesome event and we are really looking forward to being in Marstrand for Stena Match Cup Sweden."
Day 5 - Overall Standings
1 Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 25 Points
2 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 20 Points
3 Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 15 Points
4 Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 12 Points
5 Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 10 Points
6 Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge 8 Points
7 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 6 Points
8 Manuel Weiller (ESP) Team Iberdrola 4 Points
9 Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team
10 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team
11 Álvaro Marinho (POR) Seth Sailing Team
12 Eugeniy Neugodnikov (RUS) Team Synergy
2010 ISAF World Match Racing Tour Standings
(After Event 4 of 10)
1 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 71 Points
2 Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch Racing 54 Points
3 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 48 Points
4 Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 43 Points
5 Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 42 Points
6 Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 33 Points
7 Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN 20 Points
- Jesper Radich (SWE) Radich Racing Team 20 Points
9 Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia 16 Points
10 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team 15 Points
For further media information please contact media@wmrt.com
Event Website - http://www.portugalmatchcup.com/
The winner of the annual World Match Racing Tour is crowned as ISAF Match Racing World Champion. Find out more at www.sailing.org/matchworlds.
"Italy and Great Britain Win Blind Match Racing Championships
The first IFDS Blind Match Racing World Championship has been decided on Lake Garda, Italy.
Luigi Bertanza and Sylvia Parente (ITA) claimed the prize with two straight wins in the final of the World Championship for IBSA B1 classified blind sailors. On the other course, Lucy Hodges and Toby Davey (GBR) won the International Championship for the B2 classification.
Bertanza and Parente met Anna Gamba and Enrico Sosio (ITA) in the final matches, but their experience showed through with stronger tactics and boat handling. Bertanza is a skilled helmsman who has won International Blind Match Racing Championships in past years and won the B1 division of the 2009 IFDS Blind Sailing World Championships sailed as fleet racing with sighted crew members.
In the petit final for the B1 group, Manuel Ugarte and Federico Albir (ESP) lost their first match this afternoon but came back to win the next two against Kylie Forth and Erin McGlew (AUS) to claim third place overall.
The Australians will be disappointed with their performance in the finals series, having held second place through the round robin. But Forth has only taken on the helm since 2007 and sheet-hand McGlew has been sailing for just three months. They will have the home advantage next March when the Blind Match Racing Championships move to Royal Perth Yacht Club.
It was Italy versus Great Britain for the final of the B2 classified sailors competing for an IFDS International Championship.
Lucy Hodges and Toby Davey (GBR), who are more experienced in the fleet racing format sailing with sighted crew members, have adapted to the acoustic system and shown outstanding match racing skills this week. They met local favourites Alessandro Malapiero and Elisabetta Bardella (ITA) for the final. There was plenty of close manoeuvering before the start and a few protest calls, but none were upheld.
First-time match race helmsman Pekka Rantanen (FIN) has been sailing with local crew Egidio Carantini for this event. Their opponents in the petit final were Andrea Pesaresi and Gianluca Battisti (ITA). The first match was a very tight affair, with close sailing and some close calls, but the Fin managed to claim two straight.
Presentations were held at the Bettoni Palace in Gargnano.
The IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championships, 2010, Homerus Blind Match Racing have been hosted by Homerus Associazione Onlus in conjunction with the Circolo Vela Gargnano.
Sailors competing in this event must be IBSA classified B1 or B2 under the International Blind Sports Association (IBSA) vision classification system. The championships were sailed in pairs of identical keelboats by a two person crew with a sighted observer on board. Three acoustic marks, each with a unique signal, set out the course. Each boat has its own sound signal that changes when on port or starboard tack.
The ability of the blind sailors to orient themselves to the race course, locate the distance, bearing and track of their opponent, and engage in close tactical sailing is simply breathtaking. For all the officials, volunteers and spectators here in Gargnano, it has provided great racing and an inspirational event.
Results and more at http://www.2010worldblindsailingita.com/.
"Impressive Showing at Kiel Week: USSTAG, USSDT Members Win Four Medals, Two Medal Races
US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) and US Sailing Development Team (USSDT) athletes wrapped up another successful day at Kiel Week, winning four medals and grabbing two bullets in the Medal Races today. USSTAG’s Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) won gold in the Laser Radial for the second year in a row, USSDT’s Clay Johnson (Toms River, N.J.) won silver in the Laser, Mark Mendelblatt (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Magnus Lilljedahl (Miami, Fla.) won bronze in the Star, and Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.), Molly Vandemoer (Redwood City, Calif.) and Deb Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) won bronze in the Women’s Match Racing event.
Of the nine U.S. boats that qualified for today’s top-ten, double-point Medal Races, five medals were up for grabs. All three courses saw shifty, light air again today for the final day of Kiel Week, the sixth event in the 2009-2010 ISAF Sailing World Cup series. Despite the difficult conditions, Johnson also won today’s Medal Race, as did 2008 Olympic Silver Medalist Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) in the Finn class.
“This is extremely exciting for our team,” said High Performance Director/Head Coach Kenneth Andreasen (Tampa, Fla.). “Our sailors’ hard work -- training and competing at all these events -- is clearly paying off. We had a great week here, and there has been some great camaraderie among the sailors.
“We have had some challenging conditions all spring, and our sailors are learning that consistency is important. We’re getting closer to where we want to be, and we’re still two years out from the Olympics,” added Andreasen. “You can count on our team to win medals.”
In a tight race on the Laser Radial course, Paige Railey sailed conservatively to finish third, securing her gold medal win for the second year in a row at Kiel Week. This was her third medal in the 2009-2010 Sailing World Cup series: She won silver at Sail Melbourne and gold at US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR. Going into to today’s Medal Race, only two points separated her from first, so she stayed focused on who she needed to beat. She started off strong in the middle of the line, went to the right and grabbed a clear lane, rounding in the top pack of boats at the first mark. “It was so shifty, so everyone started to catch up on the [first] downwind,” said Railey. “It was incredibly stressful all the way until the end. The last downwind was super crucial for me.
“I was more concerned about the girls I needed to beat, and I let the other ones go,” she said. “They were taking more high risks and staying alone, and I was more concerned with staying with the pack and making sure I could control the variables [in order to achieve] my main goal [of winning gold].”
In another nail-biter, USSDT’s Clay Johnson grabbed a bullet today in the Laser class, his first bullet in a Medal Race at an ISAF Sailing World Cup event, which secured him a silver medal behind Australia’s Tom Slingsby. This is only his second time competing in the Medal Race at an ISAF Sailing World Cup event; he also won a silver medal at Sail Melbourne in December, 2009. Johnson had a successful string of single digits this week, including a bullet in the fourth race and second in the fifth.
The Lasers sailed their Medal Race in an offshore, puffy 5-8 knot breeze, which was Johnson said was “similar to college sailing, which helped me out.” The Harvard University alumni had a strong start near the pin and played the middle, rounding the windward mark in second place behind Slingsby and trailing him downwind. On the upwind beat, Johnson said he “tap danced” with Slingsby and was able to pick up a couple shifts and get around him at the last weather mark. Johnson held on to the lead to win the race, moving him from fifth to second overall to ultimately secure silver.
“I’m really happy with how I sailed,” said Johnson. “I think I did a good job starting aggressively and getting to the front of the fleet. After the past few regattas in Europe, I analyzed and tweaked my strategy, and it worked out well.”
Finn sailor Zach Railey also grabbed a bullet today, which was his second Medal Race win; he also won the Medal Race at Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma, Spain, in April. His win today moved him up in the overall standings from seventh to fourth, missing the podium by only one point. “My goal today was to win the Medal Race and see where the points fell,” said Railey. “It was a short event: We only had five races and the conditions were tough. My regatta goal was top five, so overall it was a good week.”
It was an all-American petit finals in the Women’s Match Racing event, after two challenging, first-to-three semi-finals (Spithill vs. Tunnicliffe 3-2, Leroy vs. Tulloch 3-0) yesterday and today. In the end, Tunnicliffe/Vandemoer/Capozzi defeated USSTAG teammates Genny Tulloch (Tiburon, Calif.)/Alice Manard (Charleston, S.C.)/Jenn Chamberlain (Annapolis, Md.) 2-0 to win a bronze medal, rounding out a strong series for the two teams.
The Star team of Mark Mendelblatt and 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist Magnus Liljedahl finished off the event with a bronze medal, adding to Mendeblatt’s two other gold medals from Kiel Week over the last four years. The 22-boat fleet only sailed six races total this week -- three races on the first day, two yesterday, plus today’s Medal Race. “It was quick action at once, and a lot of waiting around,” said Mendelblatt. “It was a tough regatta: We saw a little bit of everything.”
Mendelblatt commented on how the USSTAG’s new team outlook is noticeable from top to bottom, especially at a big event like Kiel Week. “It’s totally different than it’s ever been before in the past,” he said. “The leadership has been fantastic. It’s a real team feeling, and we’ve got brand recognition. We’re doing well, and we’re getting results. I’m really happy to be a part of it.”
“It was a really good day for our team,” said Olympic Sailing Chairman Dean Brenner (Wallingford, Conn.). “It was also really great for me to be here in Kiel and see first-hand all the things we’re working on. All the teams are coming together and it’s working. The results are starting to validate the model. The results are starting to speak for themselves.”
Other notable performances this week were on the Men’s 470 course: 2008 Olympians Stu McNay (Boston, Mass.) and Graham Biehl (San Diego, Calif.) grabbed a third in the Medal Race today and a sixth place overall, while USSDT’s Adam Roberts (San Diego, Calif.) and Nick Martin (San Diego, Calif.) finished eighth in their first Medal Race at an ISAF Sailing World Cup event, ending the event in ninth overall.
A lack of suitable wind this week forced an abbreviated regatta, with most Olympic classes only getting in five or six races total. As a result, the strategy shifted to making every point count in order to be a medal contender. “In our team debriefs, we talked about possibly not getting a discard in this regatta, which means you can’t take as many risks in order to get a consistent string of scores,” said Andreasen.
The daily postponements also made it mentally tough for sailors to stay focused and maintain their energy levels, but Kenneth said it was good training for 2012. “You wait and wait, and you have to be ready to go out at any moment,” he said. “It’s a balancing act with what you eat, and you have to stay hydrated. We are trying to win as many medals at the Olympic Games as we can, and the mental game is just as important.”
Team members set a record for this quadrennium yesterday when they achieved 19 single-digit scores in one day. More: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/News/2010/Kiel_Week_Day_4.htm
Forty-four members of the USSTAG and USSDT competed at Kiel Week this week, among 5,000 competitors. For all the news, athlete reports and exclusive video interviews with the team, please visit the USSTAG event site. For Fried Elliott’s daily photos of the USSTAG, please visit http://photos.friedbits.com/2010kielweek. [Editors: To download high-resolution photos for editorial use, please contact Marni Lane for the coupon code.]
For the complete results at Kiel Week, please visit the event web site: www.kieler-woche.de
USSTAG is made up of the United States’ top athletes in each of the 10 Olympic and three Paralympic classes who train together with the common goals of winning medals at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The next major event for the team is Sail for Gold, the seventh and final ISAF Sailing World Cup event in the 2009-2010 series, which is scheduled for August 8-14 in Weymouth/Portland, England, the venue of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
About the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics
The US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics is managed by the United States Sailing Association (US SAILING), the national governing body for the sport of sailing and sailboat racing. The top boats in each Olympic and Paralympic class are selected annually to be members of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. US SAILING supports these elite athletes with funding, coaching and training. The title sponsor of the team is AlphaGraphics; other sponsors include Rolex Watch USA, Atlantis WeatherGear, Sperry Top-Sider, LaserPerformance, Harken, Team McLube, Bow Down Training, New England Ropes, Group Experiential Learning and Trinity Yachts. 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. For more information about US SAILING, please visit: www.ussailing.org. For more information about the US Olympic Sailing Program and the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, please visit: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org.
"Clay Johnson Kiel Week Report:
Today was the medal race at the Kiel Week regatta, and I entered the day in 5th place. The medal race was a 10-boat, two lap, windward-leeward course sailed in a shifty 4-6 knots of offshore breeze. It was very shifty and reminded me of my college sailing days.
I got a pretty good start third up from the pin. Very quickly the fleet tacked to port, and I looked pretty good. I played the middle left and found myself in 2nd place at the first windward mark, just behind Tom Slingsby (AUS). On the downwind I remained in 2nd and rounded the leeward mark headed left. Again, Tom and I played the middle left and hand extended a little from the fleet. At the very top of the beat I was able to get some pressure and a shift and get around Tom. I found some nice pressure on the final downwind and sailed in for a first place finish!
By winning the medal race I was able to move up to 2nd place overall! I’m pretty excited to get my second podium finish in the world cup this year!
Tomorrow I fly home to NJ for some rest and training. Then it’s back to England for the Sail For Gold regatta and our World Championships in August.
"Women's Match Race Update from Kiel: Halfway Through Quarter Finals, Day 4 Kieler Woche
It was a long day today here at the Kiel Week Regatta. We went on the water around 1pm to get into our boats for sailing, started racing just after 2pm and racing was finally called for the day at 8pm. We got half way through the semi - finals and are currently 2 -1 over Katie Spithill from Australia.
The day started with the final races of the gold fleet round. We were again unsuccessful with our races and finished the round 0-6. However, all that meant was that we were paired up with the #3 seed going into the quarter finals and that was Katie.
The first race against Katie was close up the first beat, but we sailed very well around the course and took our first win in two days, which felt quite good. After a big wind shift, our next race started in shifty and puffy conditions. We managed to force her over the line early in the pre-start, and sailed the shifts well to extend our lead to win the race and lead the series 2-0. Our final race of the day started very similar for us. We had a couple of boat length lead by the top mark, but then the wind died, and got very, very patchy. Katie passed us downwind by separating from us. Upwind, we managed to catch back up to round about a boat length behind her, and then at the finish line we lost the race by half a boat length. It was a close, and at times, frustrating race, but we used it to work on our patience and light air tactics.
Tomorrow, the plan is to finish the quarters, and then finish the semi's and finals. The forecast is very similar as for today, which was great until the end, and we are looking forward to a lot of good racing tomorrow. You can check the results on the regatta website.
We would like to thank Carmeuse and Trinity Yachts for their continued support of our campaign for the 2012 Olympics in London. We would also like to thank US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) and its sponsors for their support.
Sail Hard,
Anna
Team Tunnicliffe
" Clay Johnson, Kiel Week Update, Lasers: 'Bullet puts me into Medal Race! '
After a few hours of postponing on shore, and another hour long postponement on the water, the Laser class got one light, 2-5 knot race on the last day of racing at Kiel. This regatta has been plagued with light air, and it's been tough to sit through day after day always on my toes ready to race at the drop of the AP flag!
Our lone race started at about 2:30 today. I had a great start at the favored pin end and continued on starboard for about 100 yards before tacking on to port and crossing the fleet. The breeze was pretty steady so it was tough to cover everyone as the fleet split to opposite sides. I played the middle left and found myself in 2nd place at the top mark behind Maxim Semerkhanov (RUS). What was even cooler, though, was that Charlie Buckingham and Kyle Rogachenko -- my two US teammates here -- were in 3rd and 4th!
I had a pretty good downwind leg, passing Maxim at the bottom. But Charlie and Wannes van Laer (BEL) went high in more pressure and got in front of us. Kyle remained in 5th. We all played some shifts up the middle and as we approached the top of the beat, Charlie had jumped out to 1st, I was 2nd, and Kyle was a close 3rd. Again, pretty cool to see the three Americans round 1-2-3 at a mark! We stayed the same on the reach and on the downwind, I was able to separate low towards the bottom in a little better pressure and just get room on Charlie and Wannes to slip into first. I stayed in first on the final reach and covered tightly on the final beat to finish the race in 1st place! Charlie was 2nd and Kyle was 4th. Great race for team USA.
After the race, the wind died to almost nothing and we drifted around for an hour. The Race Committee finally conceded and sent us in at about 5 PM.
So with a 1st in our race today I moved up to 5th overall! That also means that I will be sailing in the medal race tomorrow! Points are still close, so with a good race maybe I can continue the climb!
http://www.claysails.com/
"Women's Match Racing, Day 3 at Kiel Week: Valuable Lessons Learned
Today was a tough day for Team Tunnicliffe. We had some great starts to the races, but made mistakes on the course that cost us the lead at the top marks. We ended the day 0-3 in the gold fleet round robin, but we came away with some valuable lessons learned.
The day started with a postponement for every fleet since there was no breeze. By 11:30am, the sea breeze was beginning to fill, and the match racers were sent out to race. The repecharge were the first fleet to race, and looked like they had decent breeze to race in. By the time they were done with their racing, the breeze was on a downward trend and other fleets were beginning to venture out to practice since their racing had been cancelled for the day. This extra boat traffic made for some choppy waters and difficult conditions.
Our first race was against Australia's Katie Spithill. We won the start by winning the pin end, but tacked a little too soon on her hip and then were forced to tack away. By the time we came back together again, she was ahead by four boat lengths. On the second upwind leg, we caught up to within two boat lengths of her, but did two too many tacks at the top of the beat and lost what we had gained back.
Our second race, against our USSTAG teammates, Genny Tulloch and team, was set up very well. We won the pin again and were leading by about two lengths coming into the top mark. Unfortunately for us, just as we were approaching the mark, some huge waves came through and slowed us so much that we couldn't make it around the mark without her getting to us on starboard. After finally getting back up to speed, we rounded the mark about two lengths behind, but were able to pass and just get inside room at the mark. Despite having inside at the mark, she had more speed than us and rolled around the outside of us to take over the lead again. From there she sailed very well and controlled us to take the win.
Overall, it was a disappointing day for us, but we learned that in these types of conditions we need to switch to a more fleet race mode than a match race mode which was what we were focusing on too much. The forecast for tomorrow is for slightly better conditions, but still fairly light air. We are hoping to get to practice what we learned from today in our final two races of the gold fleet round tomorrow. From there we will move into the quarter finals. We are going to have live trackers on us tomorrow so you will be able to watch the racing live on the internet if you are interested. You can also find the results at the regatta website.
We would like to thank Carmeuse and Trinity Yachts for their continued support of our campaign for the 2012 Olympics in London. We would also like to thank US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) and its sponsors for their support.
Sail Hard,
Anna
Team Tunnicliffe
http://www.annatunnicliffe.com
"Bermuda Race News Update, 6/21
Bermuda executive Mark Watson made his first race to Bermuda memorable with a corrected time win in Genuine Risk in the Open Division for cant-keel boats.
Speedboat, owned by Alex Jackson, took line honors for the race, finishing just before dawn at 3:47:56 with an elapsed time of 59:17:56, well off the course record. Il Mostro (Puma) skippered by Ken Read, crossed the line second and corrected just behind Genuine Risk. All results are provisional until certified by the Race Committee on Friday.
“We were ahead of Il Mostro and Speedboat after we all came out of the Gulf Stream west of the rhumb line,” Watson said. “We decided to take a more easterly angle to avoid a cold eddy with negative current, but that let Speedboat separate from us.” Ralph Steitz, Sailing Director for the US Merchant Marine Academy (owner of Genuine Risk, which Watson sponsored), was one of many sailors who said how much they had enjoyed the race. “This was the easiest Bermuda Race I’ve ever done and I’ve done a few.”
Rán, Niklas Zennstrom’s JV 72, is the provisional winner in Class 10 for big professional boats in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division after being pushed hard by Tom Hill’s Titan XV for more than 600 miles. George David’s Rambler matched up with Karl Kwok’s Beau Geste and took line honors for these fixed-keel boats. “I’ve never sailed a Bermuda Race when you’re head to head with another boat for so long,” said Rambler’s tactician, Jerry Kirby. “It came down to the last tack to St. David’s Light.”
"Bermuda Race News, Monday 6/21
Alex Jackson’s maxi 100-footer sloop Speedboat finished the Newport Bermuda Race early Monday morning at 3:49 AM EDT. Finishing second at 6:25 was Il Mostro (Puma), a 70-foot Volvo Ocean Race boat sailed by Kenny Read, whose brother, Brad, was in Speedboat’s afterguard. Boat boats sailed in the Open Division for racing yachts with canting keels.
It was a slow race, with Speedboat making the 635-mile course in just over 59 hours after the start at Newport on Friday. The crew of 25 never reefed the boat. In the light to moderate conditions that prevailed through most of the race, Speedboat was hard pressed by Il Mostro, Rambler, and several boats in the mini-maxi 70-80 foot range over the first third of the course. “We really didn’t get away from them until we were in the Stream,” navigator Stan Honey said after Speedboat tied up at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club’s marina early Monday morning. “Then they gained a lot in the light stuff as we came into the finish.”
At 5 AM EDT the mini-maxi Rán on its blog reported less than 10 knots as she beat to windward toward the buoys guarding Bermuda’s reef. “Titan is downwind from us and is not a threat. Rambler and Beau Geste are upwind and in front as we thought they would. We are still in a strong position although it now looks like Beau Geste is the biggest threat. Just a few more hours to go.”
At 6:30 the blog reported, “As we are approaching the finish slowly but surely, we are all on deck, no more watches, all are on duty for the final stretch. Coffee and tea served on the rail – black only as no more milk powder onboard. Very calm water. Wind speed of 9 knots – Support team prepares ritual Dark 'n Stormies for Speedboat's crew as the first to finish boat ties up at RBYC marina early Monday morning
"Clay Johnson, American Laser Sailor, Kiel Report: Deja Vu at Kiel
For the second day in a row, we had no racing at Kiel! Today, however, we didn't even leave the harbor. I headed down to the club at about 8:45 for an 11 AM start, but when I arrived there was glass on the water. All fleets were postponed until 3 PM. Some fleets eventually did get to sail in a very light and localized "harbor breeze," but many did not leave the dock. The Race Committee called the day at 4 PM.
The plan for tomorrow, as far as I know it, is to have three races in our qualifying groups. After that, they will take the top 10 for the medal race on Wednesday. There will be no Gold-Silver-Bronze split.
Hopefully we get some breeze tomorrow! The forecast isn't that great!
http://www.claysails.com/
"Bermuda Race Update, Saturday, June 19, 2010
Speedboat took the lead from Titan XV at sunset Friday night as the big 183-boat fleet raced toward Bermuda on a fast close reach in a flat sea, clear visibility, and a moderate southwest wind that gradually strengthened and clocked toward the west. Two boats set Code Zeros.
Emails and blogs from the race course indicate widespread pleasure with what Chris Museler, who is sailing in Tom Hill’s Titan XV, called “champagne sailing conditions.”
The leader for several hours was Titan XV, in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division. She was caught by Speedboat (Open Division, which started an hour later) at about 8:45 pm. Other positions have been changing in the extremely competitive group of mini maxis sailing in the Gibbs Hill Division, with Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente overtaking Niklas Zennstrom’s Rán soon after midnight, and Rán then catching Rambler and Beau Geste in parking-lot conditions. The wind slowly faded during the night, swung into the north for a while. After dawn, two boats reported a very light breeze from the southeast, which is the course to Bermuda. Later on Saturday morning the wind filled in nicely with a report of 15-plus knots, whitecaps, and the first sighting of cumulus clouds over the Gulf Stream ahead. There also were reports of U.S. Navy exercises in the area of some boats.
Many boats are closely bunched, sailing toward a meander running approximately parallel to the rhumb line. “Everyone seems to be going the same direction!” reports Steven Thing from the Communications-Safety escort ketch Comfort. The captain of a commercial vessel that crossed the fleet was surprised by the fleet’s size and made some comments about it. Another concern has been animal wildlife. Titan XV hit what might have been a large shark, and Thing has seen two whales. The fleet dropped from 184 to 183 yachts when Avatar (Janusz Kedzierski) did not start. This race remains the third largest in the 104-year history of the Newport Bermuda Race. In the Cruiser Division, Blue (Dan Epstein), had to return to Newport to repair her broken centerboard cable. She sailed into the dock, made the repair, and was back in the race before 7 PM EDT.
"Clay Johnson, American Laser Sailor - Day One of Kiel
Kiel lived up to its reputation today: we had 12-18 knots, big choppy, rain, temperatures in the low 60s, and we sailed about 45 min to an hour to our race course! I was in yellow fleet today for the first of two qualifying days. We had three races on the outer loop.
In the first race, I had a great stat at the pin and tacked and crossed the fleet. After I crossed most of our group I flopped back over and headed left. The breeze went a little further left though and a few guys I had crossed were now ahead of me. I sailed out and tacked on their hip and rode the lefty all the way to the weather mark. I rounded in 6th place and started on the reach. On the downwind I caught up to 4th and rounded heading to the left. The top two were pretty punch, so it looked like it was a race for third. I stayed left, thinking the breeze was going to pay like the first beat, but a few guys went right and rode a big shift across. I tried to get in touch with the fleet, but had lost a few boats. I stayed left and capitalized on a lefty at the top of the beat to round in 6th. I stayed in 6th on the downwind and reach and began what was an unusually long last upwind to the finish. But the long leg worked to my benefit as I was able to get around two guys to finish 4th!
In the second race, I had another great start at the pin and tacked quickly to port. The breeze had gone far to the left, and I was almost laying! I rode the lefty across and ended up rounding in 3rd. Unfortunately on the downwind I stayed in the middle and pressure filled on either sides. I dropped back to about 6th at the leeward mark. On the next upwind I went left, again thinking the breeze would stay left like the first beat. I was looking really good for the first half of the beat, and I was conscious to stay near the guys right behind me on the left. But a bunch of guys who were deeper in the race went hard right and got big pressure and a shift. I had nothing coming back from the left (which was kind of odd) and could only get around in 12th place. I had a good downwind, closing some distance on the guys in front of me. On the last windward beat I passed a few boats to finish in 9th. A little frustrating, but a keeper race.
In the final race, I started middle-pin this time and sailed almost to the layline. I tacked onto port and crossed, sailing in about 5th place. I was 5th at the top mark with the fleet pretty spread out. On the downwind, I caught one boat to move into 4th place. For the rest of the race, I bounced around between 3rd and 5th. On the last downwind I lost one boat and rounded in 5th. I stayed there until the finish.
So overall, it was a long, cold day. Solid results though of 4-9-5 put me in 11th overall. But with three fleets the points are all very close.
Learn more about Clay and follow his campaign on his website: http://www.claysails.com/
"Kiel Week - Successful start day
With strong conditions up to 24 knots of wind, Kieler Woche the penultimate stage of the ISAF Sailing World Cup started today.
"We are pretty happy with the first day of racing here. We had to postpone the start this morning by one hour because of the high waves outside but finally we could finish our scheduled programme for the day", Jobst Richter, Chairman of the Kieler Woche explained.
Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada (BRA) started Kieler Woche with the lead in the Star fleet after two races. Scheidt, four times medallist at the Olympic Games, won the Kieler Woche three times in the Laser, but never in the Star. Scheidt explained that it is a good start but the result is not so important as to create and maintain a rhythm: "We plan to use the regatta to improve our sailing. It is my 15th Kieler Woche and it is even harder to win. It took me eight years to win my first one. The level here is very high, we have the new European Champion here and the field is very strong. Our focus will be to go full on in 2011. We will race in the 2011 World Championship in Australia then the goal will be the 2012 Olympics in Weymouth, but we have some very strong competition from within Brazil to beat first, especially from the Grael family."
Fresh from their victory at the European Championship Johannes Polgar (GER) and Markus Koy (GER) came in third today tied on the leader board with Mathias Miller and Benedikt Wenk (GER). "After winning the European Championship in Italy we are a bit exhausted. But after we sailed to the race course this morning we were back on track again", explained Johannes Polgar. Polgar went on to explain that they were still fresh and new to the class after switching from the Tornado.
How strong the competition is in the 34 boat 2.4 mR class. The first three races showed it today on course India straight in front of the Schilksee harbour. Last years Kieler Woche winner Heiko Kroeger (GER) won the first race of the day, but dropped to third and ninth place in the next two races. "Especially in the last race it was very tricky with the wind shifts. With one tack at the wrong time you went back from first to ten," Heiko Kroeger expressed at the end of the day.
It was the other way round for Thierry Schmitter (NED). Last year second placed Schmitter opened Kieler Woche with a seventh place. But with two wins in the following races he goes in to the lead.
Gold medallist from Qingdao Paul Tingley (CAN) came in seventh in the last race and currently stands in ninth overall.
Three races, three first places for Olga Maslivets (UKR). Placed 29th in the ISAF World Rankings the 32 year Olga Maslivets now leads the Women’s RS:X fleet. The German newcomer Moana Delle started Kieler Woche down in eighth place. But having trained in Maui, Auckland and Mallorca, Spain, she feels prepared for her Olympic campaign: "I learned a lot about surfing and the RS:X board during the last few months in New Zealand and in Spain and I am looking forward for the Olympic qualifications in 2011."
"That was a nice breeze outside today and it was real fun to sail. It did not really start very well for us in the morning, but in the afternoon we won one race and came fourth in the last race of the day", Oliver Lewin (GER) sailing together with Julian Ramm (GER) was happy after the first day.
Placed third overall behind the two British teams of Chris Draper and Peter Greenhalgh and John Pink and Rick Peacock. The current leader of the ISAF World Rankings Nico Delle Karth and Nikolaus Resch (AUT) finished sixth today right behind the winning team from last year Lennart Briesenick-Pudenz and Morten Massmann (GER).
"184 Boats Start Newport - Bermuda Race
A good wind is predicted for the early stages of the 47th Newport Bermuda Race, which starts Friday off Newport, R.I, USA.
The 184-boat international fleet is the third largest in the race's 104-year history. Nearly 2,000 sailors will compete. The course runs 635 miles from the mouth of Narragansett Bay into the Atlantic Ocean and across the Gulf Stream to the finish line off St. David's Head, Bermuda. The race should take two to three days for the largest boats, over 80 feet long, and four to six days for the smallest ones of 33 to 40 feet.
"We expect a fine afternoon sea breeze of 10 to 15 knots to get the boats out into the Atlantic," said Bjorn Johnson, chairman of the Bermuda Race Organizing Committee.
"It may get lighter as the boats sail out into the Atlantic, but there will be a strong favourable current in a Gulf Stream meander carrying the boats toward Bermuda."
The thousands of spectators at the start will include Bermuda's Governor, Sir Richard Gozney, and Premier, Dr. Ewart Brown. When the first starting gun is fired at 1400 hrs EDT, the two officials will be looking on from a motor yacht with Commodore Sheila McCurdy of the Cruising Club of America and Commodore Peter Shrubb of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, the race's two sponsors.
The 184-boat fleet is divided into five divisions whose final standings will be determined by factoring handicaps into the boat's elapsed times. The largest with 103 boats is the St. David's Lighthouse Division for predominately amateur racing crews. If the two-time defending champion, Peter S. Rebovich's Sinn Fein, wins her third straight St. David's Lighthouse Trophy, she will tie a record set in 1954-60 by Carleton Mitchell's Finisterre.
The Cruiser Division is the second largest with 39 boats. Its winner will receive a prize carrying Mitchell's and Finisterre's names. Professional racing crews compete in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division (13 boats) for a trophy named for Bermuda's tallest lighthouse. Three boats with cant keels and other innovations will race in the Open Division for the Royal Mail Trophy.
There also is the 26-entry Double-Handed Division for boats sailed by just two sailors. They sail for the Phillip S. Weld Prize and Moxie Prizes. In addition, the top boat in the IRC rule standings will receive the North Rock Beacon Trophy.
The five divisions are broken down into a total of 16 classes, determined by the boats' size and type.
The race for first to finish will very likely be between the largest boats in the fleet, the 99-foot Speedboat in the Open Division and the 90-foot Rambler in the Gibbs Hill Division.
In a statement to the sailors, Commodores McCurdy and Shrubb said,
"Hundreds of sailors and thousands of supporters make this race a major international sporting event every two years. Ocean racing is a marathon of endurance and finesse. Some experienced crews may make this year's race look easy: Others will learn more than they thought they would. The challenges can be both stressful and satisfying."
They added, "The fleet is first class, and the hospitality and facilities of the New York YC in Newport, and in Bermuda are unsurpassed. The members of our two clubs have volunteered countless hours of planning and preparation. Now we are all ready to let the fun begin!"
"Registration Open for US SAILING Yacht Club Summit
Registration is now open for US SAILING's inaugural Yacht Club Summit on April 2-3, 2011 at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago, Ill. Flag officers, general managers, and committee chairpersons of yacht clubs and community sailing organizations of all sizes from around the country are invited to participate. The two day summit, moderated by US SAILING President Gary Jobson and a host of industry leaders, features a number of informative workshops and seminars, and an impressive list of expert panelists including special guest speaker and sailing icon, Ted Turner. Visit the event website for registration details, schedule of events, and list of panelists and guest speakers.
"ISAF Sailing World Cup Regatta Series Returns to Germany for 2010 Kiel Week
Forty-four members of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics' (USSTAG) and US Sailing Development Team (USSDT) are training in Kiel, Germany this week, before racing begins Saturday at Kiel Week, the sixth ISAF Sailing World Cup event in the 2009-2010 series.
Among the sailors to watch this week are Laser Radial sailor Paige Railey and Star sailor Mark Mendeblatt, who both won gold medals at last year’s Kiel Week and are undoubtedly hoping for repeat performances. Mendeblatt, who also won gold at Kiel Week in 2006 with Mark Strube, will be joined by 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist Magnus Liljedahl this year. Another USSTAG Star team, Andy Horton and James Lyne, will be in the medal hunt, after their recent bronze medal win at Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik.
Once racing begins, check the USSTAG event site for action photos from Fried Elliott, exclusive video interviews with the team and the latest results and analysis. For up-to-the-minute team news, please follow the team on Facebook and Twitter.
"ISAF Publish Notice Of Race For 2010 Youth Olympic Games
ISAF has published the Notice of Race for the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games. The sailing competition in Singapore will feature 100 young sailors, aged 15-16, competing across four events.
The inaugural Youth Olympic Games will be held in Singapore from 14-26 August.
The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) stated vision for the Youth Olympic Games: "is to inspire young people around the world to participate in sport and adopt and live by the Olympic values"
Alongside the competition and sporting aspect of the Games, there will be educational programmes on the Olympic values, the benefits of sport for a healthy lifestyle and the social values sport can deliver.
The IOC's stated objectives for the Youth Olympic Games are:
- to bring together the world’s best young athletes and celebrate them
- to offer a unique and powerful introduction to Olympism
- to innovate in educating and debating Olympic values and challenges of society
- to share and celebrate the cultures of the world in a festive atmosphere
- to reach youth communities throughout the world to promote Olympic values
- to raise sports awareness and participation among young people
- to act as a platform for initiatives within the Olympic Movement
- to be an event of the highest international sporting standard
The Notice of Race for the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games contains all of the key details relating to the sailing competition and is available to download here: http://www.sailing.org/tools/documents/Singapore2010YOGNoticeofRace-[8958].pdf
The sailing competition will be held at the National Sailing Centre where SingaporeSailing regularly organises national and regional championships. The inaugural Asian Youth Games in 2009 was an ideal test event for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games and featured sailors from around Asia competing in the Byte CII and Techno 293.
The four events at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games include:
One person dinghy boys – Byte CII
One person dinghy girls – Byte CII
Windsurfing boys – Techno 293 (7.8m² Sail)
Windsurfing girls – Techno 293 (7.8m² Sail)
Edwin Low, the Sailing Competition Manager for the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee stated, “It has been an exciting journey so far as we prepare for the event. It is truly an honour to host the inaugural Youth Olympic Games. On behalf of Singapore and the Singapore Sailing Federation, I welcome all the young champions and every official to our shores”.
One of the key innovations for sailing at the Youth Olympic Games was the introduction of a Continental Qualification System and the introduction of IOC Universality places. Nations were able to qualify directly within their own continent and between December 2009 and May 2010 qualification events took place in Africa, Asia, Central & South America, Europe, North America & the Caribbean and Oceania. There was also a second opportunity for nations to qualify at a final World / Open Championship.
Alastair Fox, ISAF Events Manager, was very impressed with the Continental Qualification System: "The Byte CII Class, Techno 293 Class and the host nations all did a fantastic job implementing the Continental Qualification Events. Over 70 nations sent sailors to the qualification events and it is clear that this system was very popular. The sailing events for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games also received a great deal of interest from nations applying for IOC Universality places; these places allow emerging athletes the chance to compete on an international stage. ISAF hopes to develop this type of qualification system for future events so that we can build the popularity of sailing around the world.’"
ISAF will be publishing the full list of qualified nations shortly.
ISAF has appointed an International Technical Official team for the sailing competition:
Race Management Team:
Ross Wilson (PRO) AUS
Tomasz Chamera POL
Marina Psichogiou GRE
Bojan Gale SLO
Qu Chun CHN
International Jury:
Ana Sanchez del Campo Ferrer (Chair) ESP
Miguel Allen POR
Ricardo Labato BRA
Jon Napier GBR
Rut Subniran THA
Selvam Mookken SIN
Measurement:
Bruno de Wannemaeker BEL
Technical Delegate:
Alastair Fox GBR
For more information on the sailing events at the Youth Olympic Games go to click here: http://www.sailing.org/yog/index.php
"Korea Match Cup Cuts at Quarter Finals
The torrential downpours experienced on Day 4 of Korea Match Cup were not part of the event brochure for Stage 3 but the additional wind speeds that came with the change in weather were hugely welcomed by the ISAF World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) teams going into the quarters and ultimately deciding on slots for the semi finals.
Casualties of today’s Korea Match Cup cuts after the initial round robin were the non-tour card holders; Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia, Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing, Johnnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team, and local hero Park GunWoo (KOR) Busan Match. Additional victims after the quarter final matches were Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZBlackMatch Racing, Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra, Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing and Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team.
These Korea Match Cup skippers have been sacrificed for the tour card holders to continue. Cruising on through into the semi-finals is Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team, Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar, Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team and Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team. Hansen who is on cloud nine going into Korea Match Cup’s final day tomorrow said, “It is a fabulous feeling to go through to the final 4 teams. At Match Race Germany my team wondered if this event was really what we should be doing this year”. Hansen has bounced back from last position at Stage 2 of the 2010 Tour.
Mirsky also enjoyed his day in the elements having defeated a close rival in age and ability on the Tour, Minoprio, “To take down the world’s No.1 today and to do it 2-0 is something we are really proud of”, said Mirsky who finished in 4th at Stage 2 of the Tour behind 1st placed Minoprio.
Korea is in a sporting mood this evening as their nation is due to play Greece at the Football World Cup in South Africa. The World Match Racing Tour sailors donned red outfits, Korea’s national colour, in a post race parade round Jeongok Port in support of the football celebrations. Engagement with sport in Korea is growing dramatically since the initial 1988 Seoul Games which inspired the nation and then attracted the 2002 FIFA World Cup to its shores.
The semi-final is going to produce guaranteed high octane matches with Williams already a double ISAF Match Racing World Champion against the Swedish skipper, Hansen that is a definite player at the Korea Match Cup and the current, No.1 WMRT ranked helm, Richard versus the young Australian with a multi-national team, Mirsky.
Follow Korea Match Cup through LIVE Streaming daily from 10am on www.wmrt.com when there is no live stream, footage can be viewed at http://www.youtube/worldmrt
Semi Finalists
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team
Quarterfinals
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar v Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team (3-0)
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team v Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing (3-2)
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team v Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra (3-1)
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team v Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing (2-0)
Overall Round Robin Standings
1 Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 8-3
2 Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 7-4
3 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 7-4
4 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 6-5
5 Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 6-5
6 Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 6-5
7 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team * 6-5
8 Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team 5-6
9 Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 5-6
10 Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia 4-7
11 Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing Team 4-7
12 Park GunWoo (KOR) Busan Match 2-9
* 0.5 points deducted for damage
"Americans Finish 2nd, 4th and 5th at Star Europeans
US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics’ (USSTAG) Star teams had a stronghold on a deep, 132-boat fleet this week at the 2010 Star European Championship in Viareggio, Italy, the biggest Star event in the class’ history. USSTAG’s Andrew Campbell (San Diego, Calif.)/Brad Nichol (Miami, Fla.) won a silver medal, while the teams of George Szabo (San Diego, Calif.)/Mark Strube (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and Mark Mendelblatt (St. Petersburg, Fla.)/John von Schwarz (Annapolis, Md.) finished fourth and fifth, respectively. The German team of Johannes Polgar /Markus Koy led the regatta from the beginning, but the places below changed daily. The U.S. teams consistently stayed in the top ten, thanks to several stellar days and seamless teamwork.
“We're very excited about this finish,” said Campbell, who competed in the Laser at the 2008 Olympic Games in China. “What a great day for San Diego Yacht Club, and another strong performance by the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. All the guys sailed well. The point spread in the top ten was tight because of the extraordinary series that everybody had amongst the biggest fleet in class history.
“We sailed conservatively, cautiously and consistently this week. We tried to avoid the traffic as much as we could,” he said. “We had the best overall series if you count all six races, so that game plan ended up working out really well.”
The starts were particularly challenging because of the sheer size of the fleet, so it was easy to get caught in the packs. “We stayed away from high risk starts and tried to get a clean lane so we had room to work our way up the first beat instead of battling with the pack,” said Nichol.
Another challenge was the light air, which caused postponements and ultimately long days on the water. Each beat was approximately two-and-a-half miles long, so the races often lasted two-and-a-half hours. Of the six race days, they were only able to start on time two of the days, so they spent hours on the water in the hot sun, waiting for the afternoon sea breeze to fill in.
“Because of the sheer size of the fleet, the starting line [was] in two segments, totaling 1.4 kilometers, more than 4,000 feet long,” Campbell wrote on his blog. “The beats [were] kept to a reasonable two-plus miles and except for [Thursday’s] five-leg course, we’ve been tallying up eight-mile races, no problem.”
“I am really impressed with the team and their determination to get to the top,” said USSTAG Coach Mark Ivey (Tiburon, Calif.), who won US SAILING’s 2009 Coach of the Year Award. “Instead of accepting where they were, they attacked the race course and continually advanced.”
Campbell and Nichol applauded Ivey, who assembled U.S. team meetings every day at 10 a.m. to discuss the previous day’s racing and the conditions. Ivey then had the U.S. teams do daily line-ups to test their starts. “Coach Ivey really held us together through a grueling, light-air week, and I think the U.S. team put up a strong front with our 12:15 daily line-ups,” said Campbell. “By the end of the week, there were lots of boats that wanted to see how they would line up against us.”
Campbell and Nichol agreed that the USSTAG’s strong team presence, training and coaching at the Expert Olympic Garda in Riva del Garda, Italy, last month made a big impact on how they performed at the Star Europeans this week. USSTAG’s Szabo and Strube won a silver medal and Campbell/Nichol finished sixth at the Expert Olympic Garda.
USSTAG is made up of the United States’ top athletes in each of the 10 Olympic and three Paralympic classes who train together with the common goals of winning medals at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Weymouth, England. The next major event for the team is Kiel Week, the sixth ISAF Sailing World Cup event in the 2009-2010 series, which is scheduled for June 19-23 in Kiel, Germany.
For Fried Elliott’s daily photos of the USSTAG, please visit http://photos.friedbits.com/p571101811. For all of his pictures from this event, please visit http://photos.friedbits.com/2010stareuropeanchampionship. [Editors: If you’re interested in downloading high-resolution photos for editorial use, please contact Marni Lane for the coupon code.]
For the full results, please visit the event web site: http://www.stareuropean2010.it/
To read Campbell and Nichol’s daily regatta reports and analysis, please visit their campaign blog: http://campbellnichol2012.blogspot.com . To read additional reports from the 2010 Star Europeans, please visit: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org. For the latest USSTAG news and updates, please follow the team on Facebook and Twitter.
About the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics
The US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics is managed by the United States Sailing Association (US SAILING), the national governing body for the sport of sailing and sailboat racing. The top boats in each Olympic and Paralympic class are selected annually to be members of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. US SAILING supports these elite athletes with funding, coaching and training. The title sponsor of the team is AlphaGraphics; other sponsors include Rolex Watch USA, Atlantis WeatherGear, Sperry Top-Sider, LaserPerformance, Harken, Team McLube, Bow Down Training, New England Ropes, Group Experiential Learning and Trinity Yachts. 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. For more information about US SAILING, please visit: www.ussailing.org. For more information about the US Olympic Sailing Program and the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, please visit: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org.
"Croatian triumph: European Champions are Tonci Stipanovic and Tina Mihelic
The Laser Standard and Laser Radial European Championships & Trophy 2010 in Tallinn, Estonia came to an end today with Croatian sailors winning both Laser Standard and Laser Radial.
The final day started with slow shifty wind, blowing 2 knots, but kept increasing and reached up to 5 knots by the second race. Laser Standards held two final races today, managing to complete the maximum number of races – 12. Laser Radials sailed 3 races today, to make up for the lost racing due to yesterday’s lack of wind, completing 11 races in total.
In Laser Standard, Croatian Tonci Stipanovic won his first European Championships title, surrendering Olympic winner and world champion Paul Goodison of Great Britain by 10 points. European bronze went to Andreas Geritzer from Austria. In the Trophy score, Australian Tom Slingsby came third.
“I dreamt about it every day, but you can never tell for sure if this is day that you will become the European Champion. But I had a feeling this morning, did the best that I could and now I am the first Croatian to win the Europeans in Laser Standard,” Stipanovic said.
Paul Goodison settled with the silver medal this time. “I am a little bit disappointed of coming second but that’s just sailing. It has been a really tricky venue in Tallinn with the wind predominantly been off shore, very shifty and quite big differences in pressure. It has been a difficult regatta, but we have been doing lots of racing and the best guy won in the end,” he said.
In Laser Radial, the new European Champion is Tina Mihelic, also from Croatia. Mihelic, who has been the leader since Day 1 racing, won by an impressive 19 points. “I had been sailing really well the entire week and I had a good feeling for today. When we started the final races in the morning, I was leading by already 15 points, so I was confident and not under much pressure. I liked the conditions in Tallinn, nice weather, nice wind, and I was really confident as I had good speed, so I was just waiting for the others to make mistakes,” new European Champion Mihelic said. Silver medal went to Charlotte Dobson from Great Britain and bronze to Lithuanian Gintare Sheidt.
Laser Radial U21 European Champion is Martin Chloe from Great Britain, silver medallist Tuula Tenkanen from Finland and bronze belongs to Mathilde de Kerangat from France.
Results
"Tour Card Holders Command Korea Match Cup
As the sailors waited in anticipation for the mega wind turbines on the race course horizon to start up they finally jumped into action by 1600 hrs.
With wind building to a steady 9 knots on day three of Korea Match Cup’s Round Robin perfect match racing conditions were enjoyed by the 12 teams.
Five out of the overall nine selected 2010 World Match Racing Tour card holders are so far commanding Korea Match Cup. Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing is jointly leading with Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar who has now been dedicated to pro-racing for five years. Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing pulled back considerably in the welcomed stronger airs, he sits third overall having moved up from ninth position yesterday along with Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team and Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team. Mirsky is rapidly getting back to top form after yesterday expressing his concerns at travelling to Korea so closely after completing Chicago Match Race and arriving in Gyeonggi the morning the WMRT event started, “I didn’t recover and won’t do it again”.
Williams looked back at Match Race Germany where during this stage of the regatta he was consistently putting in good results however, his form changed when reaching the quarter finals. When asked if he had a different strategy for Korea Match Cup to retain his team’s strength into the quarters he replied,
“I think we will just carry on in the same relaxed fashion for Korea Match Cup, the way we are this year without the consistent team and dedication to training we will make mistakes, but if we remain relaxed we should win more than we lose and continue progressing, then we hope that when we go into the quarters it will go our way”.
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra upped his match race considerably today after a disappointing day yesterday which saw him defeated in all matches. The charming Italian helm who is new to the Tour this year, is now ranked eighth after one win today and could still be in play for a slot in the quarters as this skipper is termed a ‘light wind specialist’.
Further down the score board in ninth position sits another Tour card holder, Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team, who has won only four out of ten matches at this event. The 2010 Tour has not yet gone in Pacé’s favour as he was also knocked out in the Round Robin at Match Race France. Pacé commented on his current position, “We are not doing well with the wind or with our match racing”. Continuing at the post race press conference he also related that he didn’t agree with the umpire call in his match against local hero Park GunWoo (KOR) Busan Match.
As cultural Korean celebrations run into the night at the mammoth expo style event, the skippers will be heading home to rest up for the final day of the Round Robin tomorrow. The remaining matches will be fought out toughly to guarantee progression through to the next stage of the event. Competition is fierce at Korea Match Cup as the skippers race in anticipation of winning the top prize money of 75,000,000 KRW, which is the second largest prize money packet of the 2010 Tour.
Follow Korea Match Cup through LIVE Streaming daily from 10am on www.wmrt.com when there is no live stream, footage can be viewed at http://sportzzone.tv
Day 3: Current Round Robin Standings
Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 6-2
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 6-2
Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 5-3
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 5-3
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 5-3
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 5-5
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team 5-5
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 4-4
Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team 4-6
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing Team 4-6
Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia 3-7
Park GunWoo (KOR) Busan Match 2-8
Please follow the link below to view the first TV umpire moment in the world at Korea Match Cup http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyMxHAf1Tyc
Follow Korea Match Cup through LIVE Streaming daily from 10am on www.wmrt.com when there is no live stream, footage can be viewed at http://sportzzone.tv
"Croatian Stipanovic Is New Leader At Laser Europeans
Thursday was a day of anticipation for the Laser Standard and Laser Radial European Championships & Trophy 2010 in Tallinn, Estonia.
The starts were postponed for three hours for lack of wind, and while the Laser Standard athletes managed to sail two races, Laser Radial will have to make up for the postponed races tomorrow.
In the Laser Standard class the first race was held in around 8 knots of shifty wind. Australian Ryan Palk took the bullet in the first race, with German Philipp Buhl second and Tonci Stipanovic third. The second race began after waiting for the wind to stabilize in speed, this time Germans took the lead with Simon Grotelschen first, Buhl second and Greek sailor Evangelos Chimonas third.
Phillip Buhl who sailed to second place in both races said the day was unbelievable for him.
“I have been having problems with the gold fleet this year, but even in this shifty and light wind I could sail two second places today, so I am unbelievably happy. I am normally better in the strong wind cause I am a bit heavier. I think today it was important to sail on the right side and I did 100% right. I feel a bit of pressure on me for tomorrow but it is important to sail with pleasure.”
20-year old Buhl, who had initially set his goal as the top 16, now wants to finish the European Championships & Trophy in the top 5.
Overall, the Laser Standard has a new leader – Croatian Tonci Stipanovic with 30 points. “I want to finish in the top 3 – this is my goal for this regatta. I hope we will have better wind tomorrow, so I can do it,” Stipanovic said.
The Croatian is followed by Philipp Buhl, who managed to climb from the 8th overall place to no two with his day’s performance, Buhl’s score is 34 points.
Currently third with 36 points comes current Olympic and World Champion Paul Goodison of Great Britain, who admitted he was aiming for gold tomorrow.
“I am still trying to win. I think I have a good chance when another discard comes in,” he said. “Today was a bit up and down. The first race was pretty good, I got a fourth but the second race wasn’t so good. The wind completely disappeared and it wasn’t really fast sailing. I think the forecast has a bit better breeze for tomorrow so hopefully we’ll get two good races and finish off the championships.”
While the Laser Standard gold and silver fleets sailed two final races and bronze fleet one race due to the dying wind, the Laser Radials were not so lucky. After several hours of waiting for the wind, the first final race began but was abandoned mid-way due to wind dying down again. Finally the Radial athletes were called back on land.
Hence, the top 3 remains unchanged with Tina Mihelic from Croatia as the leader, Charlotte Dobson from Great Britain in second and Belgian Evi Van Acker in third place.
Regatta homepage www.laser2010tallinn.eu
Online-info on Facebook www.facebook.com/lasertallinn2010
"Stipanovic (CRO) is new leader on Laser Standard
Laser Radial races abandoned for lack of wind
Thursday was a day of anticipation for the Laser Standard and Laser Radial European Championships & Trophy 2010 in Tallinn, Estonia. The starts were postponed for three hours for lack of wind, and while the Laser Standard athletes managed to sail two races, Laser Radial will have to make up for the postponed races tomorrow.
On Laser Standard, the first race was held in around shifty, up to 8 knots wind. Australian Ryan Palk took the first final race, with German Philipp Buhl second and Tonci Stipanovic third. The second race began after waiting for the wind to stabilize its speed, this time Germans took the double lead with Simon Grotelschen first, Buhl second and Greek Evangelos Chimonas third.
Phillip Buhl who sailed to the second place in both races said the day was unbelievable for him. “I have been having problems with the gold fleet this year, but even in this shifty and light wind I could sail two second places today, so I am unbelievably happy. I am normally better in the strong wind cause I am a bit heavier. I think today it was important to sail on the right side and I did 100% right. I feel a bit of pressure on me for tomorrow but it is important to sail with pleasure.” 20-years old Buhl, who had initially set his goal into the TOP16, now wants to finish the European Championships & Trophy in the TOP5.
Overall, the Laser Standard have a new leader – Croatian Tonci Stipanovic with 30 points. “I want to finish in the TOP3 – this is my goal for this regatta. I hope we will have better wind tomorrow, so I can do it,” Stipanovic said.
The Croatian is followed by Philipp Buhl, who managed to climb from the 8th overall place to no 2 with his today’s performance, Buhl’s score is 34.
Current third with 36 points comes Olympic winner and current world champion Paul Goodison of Great Britain, who admitted to aiming for gold tomorrow. “I am still trying to win. I think I have a good chance when another discard comes in,” he said. “Today was a bit up and down. The first race was pretty good, I got a 4th but the second race wasn’t so good. The wind completely disappeared and it wasn’t really fast sailing. I think the forecast has a bit better breeze for tomorrow so hopefully we’ll get two good races and finish off the championships.”
While the Laser Standard gold and silver fleets sailed two final races today and bronze fleet one race due to the dying wind, Laser Radials were not so lucky. After several hours of waiting for the wind, the first final race began but was abandoned in mid-way due to wind dying down again. Finally the Radial athletes were called back on land and will continue the abandoned race tomorrow, along with two final races originally scheduled for the last day. Hence, the TOP3 remains unchanged with Tina Mihelic from Croatia as the leader, Charlotte Dobson from Great Britain at the second and Belgian Evi Van Acker at the third place.
"FARR 40 Class 2010 European Championship Set For Porto Rotondo
The Farr 40 Class Association in conjunction with the Yacht Club Porto Rotondo announced that the 2010 Farr 40 European Championship is scheduled September 30 –October 3 on the enchanting island of Sardinia, Italy. The regatta is the final leg of the 2010 Farr 40 European Circuit and expects to attract many of the owner/driver one-design yachts including defending European and current World champion Nerone, owned by Massimo Mezzaroma (ITA).
“Over the past 14 years, the Farr 40 Class has traveled to the world’s most beautiful yacht clubs, including numerous trips to Sardinia,” said Class President Jim Richardson (Boston, Mass. /Newport, R.I.), owner of three-time world champion Farr 40 Barking Mad (2009 - Porto Cervo; 2004 - San Francisco; 1998 – Miami). “We are grateful for the efforts of Farr 40 European Class President Wolfgang Schaefer to bring the Class back to Porto Rotondo.”
The next stop for the European Circuit is the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy for two events. From June 25-27, 10 Farr 40s are expected to compete in the second leg of the series before moving on to the ISAF Offshore Team World Championship – Audi Sardinia Cup, June 28 – July 3. Eight teams are currently entered in the dual-boat format and include Barking Mad, Nerone, Martin Strobel’s (SUI) Vanitas Cube, Giovani Maspero’s (ITA) Joe Fly, Alberto Rossi’s (ITA) Enfant Terrible, Alex Roeper’s (USA) Plenty and Angela & Wolfgang Schaefer’s (GER) Struntje Light.
“The Farr40 Class has a very friendly relationship with the Porto Rotondo Yacht Club,” said Wolfgang Schaefer. “We are delighted that they will host the Europeans and I am sure that we will have great races in Porto Rotondo.”
Since its founding in 1985, the Porto Rotondo Yacht Club has hosted a number of important regattas. “I am very happy to welcome again the Farr 40 fleet, owners and crew,” said Yacht Club Porto Rotondo Commodore Luigi Carpaneda. “I hope that everybody will appreciate our new Clubhouse, which has been completely rebuilt. I am looking forward to welcoming everyone there. The YCPR has a long standing relationship with the Farr 40 Class, and I am confident this will continue well into the future.”
The Farr 40 Class maintains an extensive international schedule that revolves around regional fleets in the U.S., Australia, Southern Europe and the Nordic region with the annual Class “crown jewel” – the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship. This past April, the 2010 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship took place at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic where Nerone was crowned champion. The 2011 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship – the Class’s 14th – will take place February 23-26 at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, in Sydney, Australia.
For more information about the 2010 Farr 40 European Championship or the schedule of 2010 Farr 40 Class events, please visit http://www.farr40.org/.
"Qualifications have been sailed at the Laser Europeans in Tallinn
Wednesday morning started off slow in Pirita – the sky was cloudy and the wind was just 3 knots and shifty, causing to postpone the starts. But the ost-wind quickly started collecting speed, and just 50 minutes after the originally scheduled time, the last two qualification races could begin.
In Laser Standard, Tom Slingsby of Australia maintained his leader position with a 7th place and a 1st place in today’s races. “The day was good – sort of up and down pressure and the wind was 5-12 knots and really shifty. The first race was going well for me but I dropped back a bit and in the second race I was back a bit but still came through. So while up and down, it was a good day overall. I am not too concerned with a strategy at the moment, the first day of the finals everything will be sorting itself out,” Slingsby said.
Croatian Tonci Stipanovic, who won both races in his fleet today, will start the finals on the second overall place, while being the current best European on Laser Standard, followed by Andreas Geritzer (AUT), Olympic winner Paul Goodison (GBR) and Nick Thompson (GBR).
The current leaders in Laser Standard after eight qualification races are as follows:
1 AUS 198274 Slingsby Tom 18,0
2 CRO 170520 Stipanovic Tonci 27,0
3 AUT 191383 Geritzer Andreas 31,0
4 GBR 193501 Goodison Paul 32,0
5 GBR 195130 Thompson Nick 35,0
In Laser Radial, Tina Mihelic again outperformed her competition, winning both races in her fleet and strengthening her leader position once more. Mihelic has currently earned 11 points, leading by 18 points to the British Charlotte Dobson on second place. “I had some good starts today and really good speed, so I won 2 first places. I like almost all kinds of wind but my speciality is light wind, and Tallinn Bay has lots of various winds. I just have good speed and I’ve been sailing really well here. I want to sail just as well in the finals, so we’ll see what happens there,” Mihelic said.
The current leaders in Laser Radial after eight qualification races are as follows:
1 CRO 194934 Mihelic Tina 11,0
2 GBR 197660 Dobson Charlotte 29,0
3 BEL 197514 Van Acker Evi 30,0
4 DEN 196984 Schutt Maiken 38,0
5 FIN 196655 Multala Sari 39,0
The European Championships & Trophy 2010 regatta will continue with the final races, two of which are scheduled for Thursday and two for Friday. In Laser Standard, the gold fleet will include 50 top sailors, silver and bronze fleets 49 sailors each. In Laser Radial, the gold and silver fleets will each have 44 sailors.
"International 420 Class Celebrates 2010!
2010 is a special year of celebration for the International 420 Class. The boat was launched 50 years ago this year!
The 420 was designed by Christian Maury, in response to a specification drawn up by Aristide Lehoerrff and Pierre Latxague, chief sailing instructors at the Socoa sailing school at Saint Jean de Luz - Ciboure in south west France. It aimed to meet a need for a performance sail training boat.
The 420 was developed through a collaboration between Maury and the French industrialist, Lucien Lanaverre, a former cooper for the Bordeaux wine industry, who had converted to the then new process of GRP polyester moulding. Lanaverre, therefore, became the first builder of the 420, a strict One Design racing dinghy.
Originally designed for advanced sailors looking to improve their sailing and racing skills, it was soon realized that this boat catered well to a wide variety of crew weights and abilities. The Class developed rapidly in France, being adopted nationally as the youth trainer for the Olympic class International 470, which was launched in 1964.
The 420 became increasingly popular world-wide. It was, and still is, much used in many countries for school and college competitive sailing, both fleet and team racing, as well as being the boat used for national youth race training around the world. Its International status was recognised by the International Yacht Racing Union, the predecessor body to ISAF. The 420 was the equipment of choice at the very first ISAF Youth World Championships, held at Angelholm, Sweden in 1971 and has been at most since, again this year in Istanbul.
The International 420 consistently produces competitive sailors for the future. Most of the Olympic sailors in the 470 and many in the 49er are former 420 sailors, as are many of the Women’s Match Racers. The Class prepares sailors for fleet racing in many classes, for team and match racing and for keel boating and ocean racing, as well as University sailing.
Uniqua-France, the French 420 National Class Association, sent us their New Year greetings on 1 January. They are making special plans to mark the 50th anniversary at their National Championships, the Coupe Nationale in Brest from 10 to 16 July. This is one of the large-fleet events used by international teams in preparation for the World and Junior European Championships each year. Uniqua France will be marking this special year with a “Raid” event as part of the programme, in addition to the Challenge Maguet team racing and the Championship itself.
Christian Berhault, President of Uniqua-Franc, spoke of the great impact that the 420 had made to the development of sailing in France, being popular with all ages and very widely used today. But “its contribution to developing racing young people’s skills in has been a World contribution of which we are very proud. We very much look forward to celebrating this anniversary with all 420 sailors past, present and future at our National Championships in Brest and then at the Junior European Championships in La Rochelle in August. Bon vent aux 420!”
The International Class Association will be having a particular celebration at the World Championships in Haifa from 22 to 31 July.
And this year’s Junior European Championships will, appropriately, be held at La Rochelle from 12 to 20 August. This will again be a joint Junior Europeans with our ‘young cousin’, the International 470. It is very much in keeping that the latest youth racers will competing at the same venue as many of our “graduates” in the 470. And this will be on the West Coast of France, the 420’s birth place fifty years ago!
Class President, Nino Shmueli, commented:
“It is a credit to the original designer and to those committed to developing young people’s racing skills at a high level that the 420 remains at the forefront of youth development worldwide."
“With our initiatives over recent years, we now have forty-two nations in full membership of the Class and had over 200 sailors at the 2009 World Championships on Garda. With new 420 classes in Bulgaria, Columbia, Denmark, Ecuador, US Vir¬gin Islands, Korea, Mexico, Peru and Puerto Rico in the last two years and increased levels of competition in Asia, South Africa, North and South America, we look forward to another decade of development. With our commitment to spreading availability and raising standards of coaching. we will be concentrating our further support particularly in Africa, Asia, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and South America."
“Meanwhile, we will celebrate 2010 with the World Championships in Haifa, the Junior Euros with the 470 in La Rochelle, and, at the end of the year, the 2011 World Championships in Buenos Aires. Another busy 420 year! We look forward to reporting at the ISAF Annual Meeting at Athens in November”
"Fog Delays Racing At Europeans in Tallinn
The second day of racing in Tallinn at the European Laser Championships & Trophy 2010 was delayed, as thick fog wrapped up the Tallinn Bay.
At 1430 hrs, racing could finally begin and two races were held as planned in both the Laser Standard and Laser Radial classes.
In the Laser Standard, Rutger Schaardenburg was once again the flying Dutchman in the first race of the day, securing his third victory at the Europeans. In the fourth race, however, wind and luck both turned their back on him and he finished 26th.
“The first day went really well for me – I won both races and everything went just like I wanted it to go. Today was more difficult for me. The first race I won, but the second race didn’t go as planned. I had a good start in the last race, and a good idea of what the wind was going to do but I missed every shift, meters kept adding and I couldn’t fight it back,” Schaardenburg shared.
Despite the last race, he remains the overall leader with three points.
“I like the sailing conditions in Tallinn, the wind is very shifty from the shore and you have to monitor it all the time – I like this kind of sailing. I have prepared hard, have also been in Tallinn earlier for a training week and I am just going into racing with all the confidence. There are six more races coming up and I am going to try to win them all,” he said.
The current leaders in Laser Standard after four races are as follows:
1 Schaardenburg Rutger (NED) 3 (1, 1, 1, 26)
2 Slingsby Tom (AUS) 6 (4, 1, 9, 1)
3 Geritzer Andreas (AUT) 8 (16, 4, 2, 2)
In the Laser Radial, Croatian Tina Mihelic again overpowered her competition, finishing in first and second place. Overall, she is now leading Maiken Schütt from Denmark by five points.
“Racing in Pirita is good – we have various conditions here. I have done well so far but we’ll see how it goes,” Mihelic said modestly.
The current leaders in Laser Radial after four races are as follows:
1 Mihelic Tina (CRO) 4 (3, 1, 1, 2)
2 Schütt Maiken (DEN) 9 (2, 18, 2, 5)
3 Dobson Charlotte (GBR) 10 (2, 6, 2, 7)
For results, photo galleries and videos visit: www.laser2010tallinn.eu
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lasertallinn2010
"Fog played the sailors at Europeans in Tallinn today
Second day of racing in Tallinn at European Championships & Trophy 2010 was delayed, as thick fog wrapped up the Tallinn Bay. At 2.30 pm, racing could finally begin and two races were held as planned in both classes.
In Laser Standard, the Rutger Schaardenburg was once again the flying Dutchman in the first race of the day, securing his third victory at the Europeans. In the fourth race, however, wind and luck both turned their back on him and he finished 26.
“The first day went really well for me – I won both races and everything went just like I wanted it to go. Today was more difficult for me. The first race I won, but the second race didn’t go as planned. I had a good start in the last race, and a good idea of what the wind was going to do but I missed every shift, meters kept adding and I couldn’t fight it back,” Schaardenburg shared. Despite the last race, he remains the overall leader with 3 points.
“I like the sailing conditions in Tallinn, the wind is very shifty from the shore and you have to monitor it all the time – I like this kind of sailing. I have prepared hard, have also been in Tallinn earlier for a training week and I am just going into racing with all the confidence. There are six more races coming up and I am going to try to win them all,” he said.
The current leaders in Laser Standard after four races are as follows:
1 Schaardenburg Rutger (NED) 3,0 (1, 1, 1, 26)
2 Slingsby Tom (AUS) 6,0 (4, 1, 9, 1)
3 Geritzer Andreas (AUT) 8,0 (16, 4, 2, 2)
In Laser Radial, Croatian Tina Mihelic again outpowered her competition, finishing the races as first and second. In total, she is now leading Maiken Schütt from Denmark by less than double the points. “Racing in Pirita is good – we have various conditions here. I have done well so far but we’ll see how it goes,” Mihelic was modest.
The current leaders in Laser Radial after four races are as follows:
1 Mihelic Tina (CRO) 4,0 (3, 1, 1, 2)
2 Schütt Maiken (DEN) 9,0 (2, 18, 2, 5)
3 Dobson Charlotte (GBR) 10,0 (2, 6, 2, 7)
"Emirates Team New Zealand Wins Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena
Two races down and on match point, Emirates Team New Zealand won the Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalea in an action-packed afternoon of match race sailing.
The Emirates Team New Zealand boat that won the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland in February prevailed 3-2 against the SYNERGY Russian Sailing Team that had put the Kiwis on the ropes 2-0 after the first race of the final.
"In the end it comes down to confidence in our team,” said Dean Barker, skipper and helmsman of ETNZ. “It's hard to believe. It was a long way back from 2-0 down. But the guys stuck with it and they gave us an opportunity that we jumped on. After that we sailed more like we expect to and it feels fantastic to win another event."
It was the first time in America’s Cup history that a Russian-flagged boat has reached the final of a Louis Vuitton-sponsored event and her mixed Russian and international crew led by Polish skipper Karol Jablonski came very close to clinching the series.
After the finish, boats crowded around the Kiwi winners and a fire boat sprayed water high in the air as Barker and his crew hosed each other down with champagne from two jeroboams and a methuselah of Moët & Chandon presented on board by Louis Vuitton chairman and CEO Yves Carcelle.
The start for the last race of the day set a new record for race turnarounds. The cut off for competition was 1600 hrs and Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio and his team hustled to setup and signal the start of the last race, less than five minutes after the finish of race three.
A shifty easterly breeze that built slowly in speed provided excellent conditions on a warm, sunny final day of racing. Because there was no wind early, the petit final for third and fourth places was abandoned and the French/German team All4One was confirmed in third place, with Sweden’s Artemis fourth.
Final, Race Two: SYNERGY Russian Sailing Team def. Emirates Team New Zealand, 01:22 – ETNZ had the starboard entry advantage but after a long dialup Jablonski claimed the committee end with the Kiwis to leeward in the middle of the line. ETNZ and Barker were bow out as Jablonski carried them all the way out to the port layline. A right-hand shift carried both boats below the mark and an unsuccessful last-minute effort by Barker to punch through to leeward in a flurry of tacks saw the Kiwi boat make a down-speed rounding 20 seconds astern. Synergy sailed away. Rod Dawson, tactician, Synergy:
“It was really satisfying. We wanted the right and Karol did a fantastic job. We felt it was going to shift that way and we controlled the race from that side. The shifts were up to 20 degrees, very tricky conditions”
Final, Race Three: Emirates Team New Zealand def. SYNERGY Russian Sailing Team , 01:05 – ETNZ trailed by 26 seconds at the first mark but crisper, faster gennaker sets and gybes, and a tactical call half way down the first run, pulled the Kiwis within six seconds at the gate. Under pressure, SYNERGY’s crew fumbled the gennaker takedown bringing the boat almost to a standstill. Minutes later ETNZ led by 156 metres. At the start, Jablonski had conducted a master class in starting tactics, leveraging a starboard entry and controlling a long dialup that led above the line before taking off at the pin on port, with the Kiwis tucked away 22 metres to leeward. Davies said:
"It was won down the first run for us. The right side was very, very strong. We managed to pull back close and the pass was down the run. He had a bad rounding but I think we were going to be ahead and on the favoured side of the course." Jablonski said: "That's the game of mistakes. We gybed on the first run a little bit too early and TNZ had an edge, that's why we decided to go to the other mark.”
Final, Race Four: Emirates Team New Zealand def. SYNERGY Russian Sailing Team, 00:04 – The Kiwi boat prevailed in a muscular tactical battle punctuated by a flurry of protest flags in 14 knots of breeze. After a spirited pre-start the boats split with the Kiwis on starboard before quickly tacking onto port to control. Barker led by seven seconds at the top mark but the Russians overtook on the run, only to be penalised after contact when ETNZ closed up again. The action was furious and the flags frequent on the last run as Synergy fought to land a penalty on their opponent but Barker kept clear and broke through to win by four seconds with the Synergy penalty still outstanding.
Final, Race Five: Emirates Team New Zealand def. SYNERGY Russian Sailing Team, 01:23 – Synergy claimed the committee end on starboard with ETNZ to leeward and immediately tacked away. The Kiwi boat tacked to cover and it was a replay as they went out to the starboard layline with the Russian boat forced to follow. Barker led by 12 seconds after the run and held off Jablonski in a spirited tacking duel up the second weather leg. Synergy’s hopes were shattered on the run when their gennaker shredded as they trailed by three boat lengths. Davies said:
"It was a tough one. But we got there in the end. It was a tricky venue and tough competitors. It was tough to win and we're pretty darn proud of it. The turning point was on that final run when their spinnaker blew out! In the end, the team keeps backing itself. It was stressful, but like all of these regattas, you just have to win the last race, and we peaked at the right time. Synergy sailed really well as did all of the top boats. It's been a really close regatta, the closest of these we've had…It's hard to keep people behind us, that's for sure."
Final Results
1. Emirates Team New Zealand
2. SYNERGY Russian Sailing Team
3. All4One
4. Artemis
5. Mascalzone Latino Audi Team
6. Azzurra
7. TEAMORIGIN
8. Luna Rossa
9. BMW Oracle Racing Team
10. ALEPH Sailing Team
"Leroy defends her title at the 2010 BoatUS Santa Maria Cup
Close racing in hot, shifty conditions through today’s final contests of the semi-final and five-match final rounds in the 20th annual BoatU.S. Santa Maria Cup international women’s match-racing regatta produced a similar result to last year, with the French team skippered by Claire Leroy topping San Franciscan Genny Tulloch and her team 3-2 to retain Leroy’s title as champion for another year.
The regatta, which began Wednesday with the start of a double round-robin before the semi-final and final rounds, was sailed on the Chesapeake Bay out of Eastport Yacht Club by 10 of the world’s top-ranked female match racers in J/22s.
In the semi-final pairings, which were all tied up at the end of Friday’s racing, Tulloch and her crew, including Molly Carapiet, Katie Pettibone, and Jen Chamberlin, outfought Sally Barkow and her crew this morning, going on to win the series 3-2, while Leroy made short work of Floridian Anna Tunnicliffe and her team in just two more races to earn the spot to race Tulloch and defend her title.
The final series was a nail-biter, with Tulloch coming from behind in the second race to beat Leroy, and solidly in the lead throughout to win the fourth race, but Leroy and her team, including Elodie Bertrand, Marie Riou, and Claire Pruvot, were able to hold the challengers off for a second straight year and win the other three.
“We had a good regatta,” Leroy said. “We lost four in the round-robin, but they were very close so we knew we could win. And then in the semi-final we were against Anna Tunnicliffe, as always.”
Familiarity with her competition from racing here, in Europe, and in the Virgin Islands, helped boost Leroy’s confidence thro
"Top Laser Sailors To Compete In European Champs in Tallinn
The world's top Laser sailors have gathered in Estonia, Northern Europe, to compete in the European Laser Standard and Laser Radial Championships and Trophy 2010.
From 4 - 11 June, Tallinn Olympic Sailing Centre will be hosting 250 athletes from 42 countries and five continents, including Olympic medal winners and world champions.
Ants Väinsalu, regatta director said that it is one of the largest and high-level sports competitions to take place in Estonia since the Olympic regatta was held in Tallinn in 1980.
“Teams have shown great interest in competing in Tallinn – we have athletes coming in from all across the world and the entry list has come close to maximum capacity,” Väinsalu said. “We have worked hard on organizing this championships regatta for a long time and we are hoping to offer the participants a memorable regatta experience, worthy of the 30-years back Olympic city.”
Tallinn, the medieval capital on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, has been excited to see hundreds of sailors and their teams finding their way to Tallinn in the last few days. The total count will be 155 athletes from 37 countries in the Laser Standard and 94 athletes from 31 countries in the Laser Radial.
The Laser Standard entry list includes current Olympic and world champion Paul Goodison (GBR), 2007 and 2008 world champion Tom Slingsby (AUS), world-ranking number two and current leader of the ISAF Sailing World Cup Series, Javier Hernandez (ESP).
The Laser Radial entry list features world champion Sari Multala (FIN), Beijing Olympic silver medallist Gintare Volungeviciute (LTU), 2007 world champion Tatiana Drozdovskaya (BLR) and last year’s European Trophy winner Paige Railey (USA). All in all, the entry list includes six Laser Standard athletes and seven Laser Radial athletes in the latest ISAF World Rankings top ten.
Hosting nation Estonia is represented by eleven Laser Standard athletes and four Laser Radial athletes. The Estonian Laser Standard line-up presents Argo Vooremaa who placed sixth in Hyeres this year, and Karl-Martin Rammo who came fourth in the European Junior Championships 2009. In the Laser Radial, Estonia has high hopes for Anne-Mari Luik and junior Anna Pohlak who is sailing her first season in the Radial after her last year’s triumph as Zoom8 world champion.
Friday and Saturday are for registration and measuring as well as a practice race, on Saturday evening all participants are welcome to the opening ceremony at the historic Pirita convent ruins, where amongst others they are greeted by Esko Reckhardt (FIN), the 1980 Olympic winner in Finn class. Qualifications will be held on 6 - 9 June and final races on 10 - 11 June.
Regatta homepage www.laser2010tallinn.eu
"Boston College Wins 2010 ICSA/Gill Dinghy National Championship
Light air again foiled the sailing plans of the 18 schools that had trained and competed all year to be able to challenge for the 2010 ICSA/Gill National Championship taking place on Lake Mendota from June 1-3. The championship is the focal point of the college sailing year, and its coveted title has been won by 19 schools over the last 42 years: USC, San Diego State, Tulane, Harvard, Yale, Tufts, URI, UCLA, Kings Point, BU, Charleston, UC Irvine, ODU, Navy, Dartmouth, St. Mary's, Hawaii, Hobart & William Smith and Georgetown. Today a first-time winner of the title - Boston College - joins that fraternity having taken and held the lead position through the first two days of the championship. The title also earns BC another rarer entry in the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association's history books: as the sixth school to win all three spring championships (ICSA Women's Nationals, ICSA/APS Team Race Nationals, and the ICSA/Gill National Championship) along with Navy, ODU, Tufts, St. Mary's and Harvard.
"The conditions made it a tiny bit anticlimactic, but it feels good," said Greg Wilkinson, Boston College Head Coach, about the title win. "We arrived at the lake this morning and, as it has been for the last week, it was glass. We talked as a team and reminded each other that we would be sailing . . . we tried to convince ourselves that we would be sailing. I'm proud to be in that group of schools that have won all three championships. My phone hasn't stopped buzzing with calls from Boston College staff. BC is proud of the sailing team and it's unfortunate that school is not in session now so that we can celebrate. We'll probably do something on campus in the fall to celebrate."
On the water for Boston College in A-Division was junior skipper Tyler Sinks (San Diego, Calif.) who sailed with crew Lucy Wallace (Middletown, R.I.) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.), both juniors, and freshman Laura McKenna (Palo Alto, Calif.). In B-Division junior skipper Taylor Canfield (St. Thomas, USVI) sailed all nine races with senior crew Sandra Williams (Chicago, Ill.) to win that division. BC's final score of 127 points reflects 88 points from A-Division plus 39 from B-Division.
No doubt the wait onshore was painful for the teams in second through fifth place coming into the final day. With only a 16-point spread between first and fifth place, had even one race been sailed the outcome could have been vastly different. "All were very close and everyone wanted to sail," said Mitch Brindley, President of ICSA. "In one race they could have made some significant steps. And that was very frustrating."
Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.), heads home with second-place in the overall standings. With a final score of 132 points, only five points stood between them and the title. Tied on 142 points, Brown University (Providence, R.I.) and St. Mary's College (St. Mary's, Md.), the defending champion, finish third and fourth overall. Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.), winners of A-Division, are fifth with 143 points.
The Format: At the ICSA/Gill National Championship each of the 18 schools entered - after qualifying via one of two semi-final events held in early May - fields a separate A and B division team. Weather permitting, each division sails 20- to 30-minute fleet races in rotation and a team's final score is determined by the combined results of its sailors in both divisions. The championship was hosted by the University of Wisconsin, utilizing their fleet of 420s, from the regatta base at Memorial Union Terrace. For results and additional information on the championships, visit: http://2010nationals.collegesailing.org/
Catch the Replay: Noted sailing commentator Gary Jobson (Annapolis, Md.) will produce a program on the ICSA/Gill National Championship for ESPNU that will air Friday, July 9 at 8:00 p.m. EDT.
"Weather Hampers Racing At 2010 ICSA Dinghy National Championship
Conditions on Lake Mendota were all over the place for the second and penultimate day of competition at the 2010 ICSA/Gill National Championship. There was a light breeze from the WNW when the first race got underway that climbed up to six knots, and then clocked around to north and then east before a severe thunderstorm warning - indicating the possibility of golf ball-sized hail and damaging winds - kept the fleet ashore for most of the afternoon. Just before 7:00 p.m. CDT, B-Division headed out for race 8B in a northeasterly breeze of 13 knots and light rain. The waning daylight put an end to racing for the day with the scoreboard now reflecting 10 races for A-Division and nine for B-Division. There will be an early start tomorrow as the Notice of Race has been amended to move the competitor's meeting up to 8:30 a.m., with the first warning signal given as soon as practicable thereafter.
Despite a rough end to their day with three double-digit finishes in A-Division, Boston College (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) retains the lead in the overall standings. With 88 A-Division points plus 39 from B-Division, the Eagles have 127 points and a five-point edge over Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.) with 132 total points (74 + 58). Brown University (Providence, R.I.) started the day in fifth and moved up to third overall with 142 points (82 + 60). The Bears are tied on points with St. Mary's College (St. Mary's, Md.), who moved up three spots in the standings. Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.) keeps their top standing in A-Division after they offset double-digit finishes in races 7 and 8 with wins in races 9 and 10. With 143 points (53 + 90), the Hoyas are fifth overall.
With the fifth-placed team only 16 points out from the series leader, there are no easy bets as to who will claim the title when racing for the 2010 ICSA/Gill National Championship wraps up tomorrow Thursday, June 3. The championship is being hosted by the University of Wisconsin, utilizing their fleet of 420s, from the regatta base at Memorial Union Terrace.
The Format: At the ICSA/Gill National Championship each of the 18 schools entered - after qualifying via one of two semi-final events held in early May - fields a separate A and B division team. Weather permitting, each division sails 20- to 30-minute fleet races in rotation and a team's final score is determined by the combined results of its sailors in both divisions. For results and additional information on the championships, visit: http://2010nationals.collegesailing.org
Catch the Replay: Noted sailing commentator Gary Jobson (Annapolis, Md.) will produce a program on the ICSA/Gill National Championship for ESPNU that will air Friday, July 9 at 8:00 p.m. EDT.
-end- (Current Standings After Two Days of Racing: School, Hometown, A + B + Total Points)
June 1-3, 2010 - ICSA/Gill National Championship
Boston College (Chestnut Hill, Mass.), 88 + 39 = 127
Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.), 74 + 58 = 132
Brown University (Providence, R.I.), 82 + 60 + 142
St. Mary's College (St. Mary's City, Md.), 78 + 64 = 142
Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.), 53 + 90 + 143
Yale University (New Haven, Conn.), 79 + 76 = 155
U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis, Md.), 91 + 72 = 163
University of Vermont (Burlington, Vt.), 65 + 106 = 171
College of Charleston (Charleston, S.C.), 112 + 63 + 175
Tufts University (Medford, Mass.), 83 + 99 = 182
Hobart & William Smith Colleges (Geneva, N.Y.), 123 + 65 = 188
Salve Regina University (Newport, R.I.), 107 + 86 = 193
Roger Williams University (Bristol, R.I.), 96 + 98 = 194
Old Dominion University (Norfolk, Va.), 119 + 95 = 214
University of South Florida (St. Petersburg, Fla.), 98 + 127 = 225
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point, N.Y.), 115 + 110 = 225
SUNY Maritime College (Throggs Neck, N.Y.), 118 + 115 = 233
Stanford University (Palo Alto, Calif.), 119 + 118 = 237
"On the Olympic Campaign Trail with Andy Horton, Star Sailor
After winning a bronze medal at the Delta Lloyd Regatta, the fifth International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Sailing World Cup event in the 2009-2010 series, Andy Horton talked to US SAILING about what he likes most about sailing Stars, what he’s doing differently in this Olympic campaign, and shares some key tricks of the trade for all sailors and athletes alike.
US SAILING: What do you like most about sailing Stars?
HORTON: Number one, it’s the competition. I think it’s the best racing in the world. The second thing I like is the technical part of the boat. And third, the camaraderie in the class is pretty tight. Those are the three big things.
US SAILING: What do you like most about the technical aspects of the boat?
HORTON: One of the things I love about the Star is that it has a lot of technical options and space. There are many different boat builders and sail makers, and everything is quite changeable. You can tune the mast in 10 different ways and positions. You can build your boat in your backyard if you want; I like that. It’s intriguing. I like constantly learning and trying out new techniques. The boat is really about balance. It gives you feedback to make it go fast, in terms of setting up the masts and sails in variety of conditions. I like learning about it and figuring out why the boat is acting a certain way, or why other boats are passing us.
US SAILING: The Star is known for being a very physical boat. Can you please explain?
HORTON: The Star is actually more of a dinghy than a keel boat. The boat is active and lively and powerful, so it’s quite fun to sail. The sails are big. The boat is powered up in 9-10 knots of breeze. So the person who hikes the hardest, typically is the fastest.
US SAILING: How important is your physical strength in handling the Star?
HORTON: We need to be pretty strong for sure… to be able to handle it well in breeze. If you’re lighter, you give up. You need to be able to hike upwind and downwind as the skipper – you end up hiking the whole time, in fact. In order to do that, you need strong core and upper body strength.
US SAILING: What’s your fitness regime off the water in order to achieve this strength?
HORTON: I suffered a herniated disc in my back in January, 2007, when I was sailing the America’s Cup on Luna Rossa. When I got home, I started training with Chris Poulin, who owns Poulin Performance here in Vermont, and he helped me fix my injury and prevent future injuries. After four months of core training, I was stronger than I was when I was lifting weights for two years. Chris is just unbelievable – he takes a holistic approach to core strengthening and conditioning. James and I work out with him at least once a week; he’s a part of our team.
I also do a lot of running. James has been my coach since 1998 in the Star and Soling, and now he has started crewing for me. He says he can see my improvement: The year I started running with my wife, who runs marathons, my hiking fitness took a huge step forward. Running gets all your muscles going. I run 4-5 miles a day and sometimes 8 miles.
US SAILING: How does your wife help you, in terms of motivation and support?
HORTON: My wife is awesome. She’s a nutrition editor for a food magazine called Eating Well, and she’s a registered dietician. She knows all about food and eating right while training. The biggest thing [I’ve learned] is recovery eating within 30 minutes after a workout to replace the glycogen sugars in your muscles. If you eat protein within that time frame, your body still thinks you’re working out, so the next day you’re not tired.”
US SAILING: What types of protein do you bring with you on the boat after a long day of racing at an event?
HORTON: We try to keep the food to a minimum because it’s extra weight on the boat. So we make sure to eat a bar on the way in to shore, so we can recharge for the next day. My wife makes the best bars at home, which we call Maple Go Fast Bars.
US SAILING: What do you eat for dinner while you’re competing in Europe?
HORTON: It’s hard to get fruits and vegetables on the road. We try to stay at fewer hotels and more houses and bungalows where we can cook ourselves. When you eat in restaurants, you can’t pick off the extra butter or cheese they add.
US SAILING: What’s your favorite food to make during a regatta?
HORTON: Steak. I save my red meat intake for when I’m competing. I recover better the next day when I eat it.
US SAILING: Speaking of recovery, how do you take care of your muscles after a long day of competing?
HORTON: When I’m traveling, I try to do some type of active recovery, like jogging, while I’m racing, and then ice. Ice works better than any other pharmaceutical, and you feel much better about the side effects. When I was on Luna Rossa, I did contrast therapy. I’d come in off the water and fill a big trash can with ice water. I’d plunge right in up to my arm pits for three minutes, get out and warm up. And then I’d do it again. It was amazing.
Another way you can do contrast therapy is in the shower with hot and cold water. You get the water as hot as you can stand it for 20 seconds, then turn it as cold as you can stand it for another 20 seconds, and then repeat with hot water again. You have to end on the hot water cycle. Your muscles expand with the temperature change, and it pumps all the lactic acid out and brings new blood flow into the muscles. I also stretch my hamstrings while I’m doing it. The process can fix injuries and prevent you from being sore the next day.
US SAILING: How did you and James join forces for this Olympic campaign?
HORTON: James has been a friend and traveling with me as a coach for many years now. He has seen the way I sail and talked through situations together, so it was a natural progression. There are many great things about James and his experience, but it’s also important he lives here in Vermont, so we can train a lot. During my last campaign in 2008, between my back injury and sailing America’s Cup, I wasn’t in the Star boat for eight out of 12 months of the year. We’d go to the events a couple days early and train. But if you look at the rest of the world, they’re sailing Stars every day of the year. There’s a balance: We have to train with other people before regattas, but we need to log our hours in the boat together, up here in Vermont.
US SAILING: Many people probably wonder how you can train all year around in Vermont. How long is your season?
HORTON: We’re sailing from the end of April until as long as we can. It’s chilly in December but you can sail in November for sure. We keep our boat at the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center, which has a great program for high schoolers and a hoist. It’s about 10 minutes away. We watch the weather on the web cam – when there’s wind, we go sailing. We try to go 3 to 5 days a week if we can.
US SAILING: What’s next for you on the Olympic class circuit?
HORTON: Our next Star event will be Kiel Week in late June and then the Sail for Gold Regatta at the Olympic site in August. Along with all of that I'll be doing a little racing on Hap Fauth's boat, Bella Mente, and with Kip Meadows on his Melges 32, Roxanne.
"Artemis leads and BMW Oracle Racing leaves
Sweden's Artemis climbed to the lead of the Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena today with a victory over Emirates Team New Zealand.
After six races in winds ranging from 15 to 20 knots the scoreboard now shows Artemis first with six points, and Emirates Team New Zealand and SYNERGY Russian Sailing Team equal second with five points. Only eight teams will qualify for the quarter finals.
With just four races remaining in the round robin, America’s BMW Oracle Racing and the French ALEPH Racing Team, with ninth and tenth places respectively, are on the outside, looking in.
James Spithill and Oracle, the winners of the America’s Cup, decisively won races today against Italy’s Mascalzone Latino and Azzurra, but the late improvement in form still left them in ninth place. With all their races complete the Americans are effectively eliminated.
The mistral winds had eased and conditions were perfect for racing this morning under sunny skies. The first race of the day started in 15 knots of northwest wind after a short delay. The breeze continued to build but after Oracle beat Azzurra in winds that gusted over 20 knots, organizers ordered a delay until conditions eased.
"St. Mary's College Wins 2010 ICSA/APS Team Race Nationals
Over the three-day Memorial Day holiday weekend, the top 14 schools in the nation - as determined by their performance in one of the seven Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association conferences to which they belong - were in America's Heartland racing for the 2010 ICSA/APS Team Race National Championship title on Lake Mendota. And for one team, St. Mary's College (St. Mary's, Md.), it was a reversal of fortune from 2009 when the Seahawks lost this championship on a tie breaker, to come back and win this year's contest on a tie break with the same team - Boston College. Proving that they are a powerhouse in this format of sailing, the win marks the fifth time the Seahawks have clinched this unique championship which pits each college's three-boat team against another's in a round-robin series of matches.
The competition starts with the 14 teams divided into two groups; the first hurdle for the teams was finishing top four in their group. In Group 1, St. Mary's (6-0), Tufts (5-1), Yale (4-2) and College of Charleston (4-2) moved on to the Gold Round. Northwestern University (2-4), Texas A&M Galveston (1-5) and the University of Hawaii (0-6) were out of contention for the national title at the conclusion of that round.
>From Group 2, Boston College (6-0), Georgetown University (5-1), the U.S. Naval Academy (4-2) and the University of Wisconsin (3-3) progressed to the Gold Round, while Eckerd College (1-5), Stanford University (2-4) and the University of Washington (0-6) were also out of contention.
At the conclusion of the Gold Round, also known as the "elite eight," the "final four" race to determine the champion. The goal of the championship is to have the top four teams meet each other three times, which also allows for a tie break. This year's event was a light air contest, and credit goes to the Race Committee for giving the sailors every opportunity to get races completed especially on the penultimate day of the championship (Sunday, May 30) when competitors were out sailing at 9:00 a.m. and finishing up about 8:00 p.m.
"When teams make the 'elite eight,' each team is capable of beating everyone else," explained Adam Werblow, Head Varsity Sailing Coach at St. Mary's. "There is no easy win. Every team has worked damn hard to get here and they've accomplished a lot by the time they get to the championship round. That's what makes it fun. There are simply no gimmes once you get into the elite eight."
"What helped us is that we have a team who has worked together for a very long time," said Werblow. "This team has been perfecting the skills of team racing and Bill Ward (Varsity Sailing Coach) has been exceptional on coaching the details of how to team race well. The level of consistency that they've had is remarkable. With the support of our alumni we set the bar really high and we had a goal at the beginning of the year to win this championship. "
On the water for St. Mary's were senior skipper Ted Hale (Annapolis, Md.) with junior crew Francis Kupersmith (Alexandria, Va.), junior skipper Michael Menninger (Newport Harbor, Calif.) with senior crew Kelly Wilbur (Ipswich, Mass.) and senior skipper Jesse Kirkland (Warwick, Bermuda) with junior crew Madeline Jackson (Bainbridge Island, Wash.). For the last race of the championship, senior skipper Mike Kuschner (San Francisco, Calif.) sailed with Kupersmith, and Hale sailed with Wilbur.
"We have such a proud tradition and we are thrilled to be able to represent the school and one another," summed up Werblow. "There are 30 kids on our team and 2,000 in the school. The 10 kids sailing here are representing the rest and feel really proud to regain the national title we covet so much."
Final standings for the final four: St. Mary's 12-5, Boston College 12-5, Georgetown 10-7 and Charleston 9-8. Complete results are available at: http://2010nationals.collegesailing.org/page/Team-Race-Results
The Grand Finale: The ICSA/Gill National Championship starts tomorrow and runs for three days, June 1-3, from the regatta base at Memorial Union Terrace. Results, Twitter updates and live video coverage are available at: 2010nationals.collegesailing.org
ICSA is the governing authority for sailing competition at colleges and universities throughout the United States and in some parts of Canada. To learn more please visit: http://www.collegesailing.org/. ICSA is sponsored by Gill (www.gillna.com), Annapolis Performance Sailing, (www.apsltd.com) Marlow Ropes, (www.bainbridgeint.com) Quantum Sails, (www.quantumsails.com) LaserPerformance (www.laserperformance.com/main/) and US SAILING: (www.ussailing.org)
"Andy Horton & James Lyne Win Bronze Medal at Delta Lloyd Regatta
Medemblik, The Netherlands (May 30, 2010) – US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics’ (USSTAG) Andy Horton (S. Burlington, Vt.) and James Lyne (Granville, Vt.) won a bronze medal in the 16-boat Star class at the Delta Lloyd Regatta, the fifth International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Sailing World Cup event in the 2009-2010 series. This was their second podium finish at a Sailing World Cup event in 2010: they also won a silver medal at US SAILING’s 2010 Rolex Miami OCR in January. Three Medal Races were completed yesterday, while the other fleets battled for medals today. Sailors who did not make the top ten competed in consolation races to round out their scores today.
The Stars competed in their Medal Race last evening in light air conditions of 3-6 knots. The race was challenging before the start: the course was held under the town of Medemblik with the weather mark approximately 100 feet off the breakwater. In a tight-at-the-top fleet, Horton and Lyne went into the Medal Race in third position.
“The boat was really favored but there was pressure on the left. Basically nothing was going to make this race easy,” said Horton. After a troubling start and a quick tack to keep their breeze clear, a few other boats were under them on port side while the other half of the fleet was still sailing on starboard.
“About half way up the beat, things starting turning around for us,” Horton explained. “As you can imagine, you cannot see the puffs on the water coming down above the course - unless you could magically read the leaves on the trees, so this race was a little more about dealing with what gets thrown at you the best you can.”
[For more details about the Star Medal Race, please read Horton’s play-by-play evaluation at: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/News/2010/Horton_on_Star_Medal_Race.htm ]
Despite challenging starts and some speed issues in the chop this week, the Vermont-based team felt they were able to “[make] it through those problems alright,” said Horton. “We are good friends and passionate about sailing but both realize that in the big picture it's still just a sailboat race.” They plan to compete at the next two ISAF Sailing World Cup events: Kiel Week in Kiel, Germany, and Sail for Gold in Weymouth/Portland, England, the venue of the 2012 Olympic Games.
“Andy and James showed, once again, that they are making great progress,” said USSTAG’s High Performance Director and Head Coach Kenneth Andreasen (Tampa, Fla.). “We have a very healthy Star program and the competition is heating up.”
Two other USSTAG boats competed in the Medal Races: 2008 Olympians Amanda Clark (Shelter Harbor, N.Y.) and Sarah Chin (Hoboken, N.J.) finished eighth overall among 46 Women’s 470 boats, while Olympic Silver Medalist Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) finished fifth in the 62-boat Finn class.
After a slow start to the regatta, Clark and Chin made a huge comeback to ensure a spot in the Medal Race. Unfortunately, the Women’s 470 Medal Race was tough to control: After a pin end start, Clark and Chin weren't able to keep a clear lane and were bounced around on the first beat. Every chance they had on the small course was swallowed up by another competitor. They finished the race in eighth, and finished eighth overall.
While Railey accomplished his pre-regatta goal of finishing in the top five, he had a disappointing Medal Race today, after a solid week of two bullets and other single-digit finishes. “After the first lap of the race, I was in second. We had a big right shift on the second upwind and unfortunately, I was caught on the left of fleet and went from second to 10th,” said Railey. “I knew after I had gone around the weather mark in 10th the second time… I had to figure out how to make top five happen.”
Railey will spend the next few weeks before Kiel Week training with his USSTAG Finn teammates, specifically focusing on boat-handling and upwind boat-speed, as well as physical fitness. “I’m ready to go for the next event,” he said.
“We are close, but not quite there. We are leaving too many points on the table and have to learn to tighten that up,” said Andreasen. “Our sailors are putting in a big effort and I am convinced that we will begin seeing it all come together in the next few events. With a big training effort in the coming weeks, we will be looking for top results at the summer's World and European Championships and World Cup events.”
After light air plagued the last two Sailing World Cup events, Olympic class sailors enjoyed competing in stronger wind this week. USSTAG Meteorologist Doug Charko (Auckland, New Zealand) summed up the conditions: “After taking a holiday in Palma and Hyères, the wind came to play in Medemblik. No days were lost during the regatta due to lack of wind and only a few races were postponed during a light patch on day two. The majority of racing was in 5-10 knots, but there were plenty of races in 15 knots or more as well. The sunny skies gave way to steel gray cloud with rain for much of the medal racing in a full range of 3 to 20 knots.”
USSTAG is made up of the United States’ top athletes in each of the 10 Olympic and three Paralympic classes who train together with the common goals of winning medals at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Weymouth, England. The US Sailing Development Team is a new youth pipeline team comprised of future Olympic hopefuls, who are learning the skills required to launch successful campaigns and compete at an elite level. The next ISAF Sailing World Cup event is Kiel Week, scheduled for June 19-23, 2010, in Kiel, Germany.
For final results of all USSTAG and USSDT sailors, exclusive daily video interviews and action photos, please visit the USSTAG event web site:
http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/Events/World_Cup/DLR2010.htm
For the latest news and updates, please follow the team on Facebook and Twitter.
About the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics
The US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics is managed by the United States Sailing Association (US SAILING), the national governing body for the sport of sailing and sailboat racing. The top boats in each Olympic and Paralympic class are selected annually to be members of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. US SAILING supports these elite athletes with funding, coaching and training. The title sponsor of the team is AlphaGraphics; other sponsors include Rolex Watch USA, Atlantis WeatherGear, Sperry Top-Sider, LaserPerformance, Trinity Yachts, Harken, Team McLube, Bow Down Training, New England Ropes, Group Experiential Learning. 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. For more information about US SAILING, please visit: www.ussailing.org. For more information about the US Olympic Sailing Program and the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, please visit: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org.
"2010 Delta Lloyd Regatta crowns three champions
On Saturday May 29, the 2010 Delta Lloyd Regatta crowned three champions in Medemblik. The British team of Asher and Willis won the 470 men series after a nerve-racking Medal Race. As expected, the Norwegians Melleby and Pederson grabbed the victory in the Star class. The Italians sailors Conti and Micol finished their job and won the 470 Women. All races were covered live on the internet, by television and tracing & tracking.
470 Medal race
The race started as planned at 6PM with light wind and drizzle. In fourth overall, the Croatian Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic were the ones who could gain the most despite an 11 points break from third placed Calabrese/de la Fuente (ARG). The Croatian started well and reached the top mark in front. The boats spread on the downwind to get more breeze. The Croatian increased their lead on the second upwind followed by the Australians, Swedish and regatta leaders Asher/Willis. The third beat saw some upset when the Israeli and the two French who went hard right, sneaked in between the Australians (second behind CRO) and the Brits who at this stage had lost the lead of the regatta to the Australians. Gidon Kliger and Eran Sela (ISR) got closer to pass the Australians and the Croats over the finish line. With the Israeli now in front, Asher and Willis regained their lead to win the event. The Croatian second in the Medal race took third behind the Australians. `The conditions were very tricky but we have a good speed which helped a lot`, says Asher, `It surely was the most exciting race of the week, but very nerve-racking!`
Star Medal race
The Croatian sailors stole the show once again in today`s Star Medal race. A repeat of the 470 man Medal race! Mate Arapov and Ante Sitic, started in 4th position. They won the race with a good lead to take second overall. The Norwegians Melleby and Pederson, who after a bad start came back throughout the race to place second, collected their third Sailing World Cup title this year after victories in Miami and Hyeres. `We had an average where we misjudged the time. We were fifth which was enough to keep the title. We didn`t want to take too many risks so took it easy. We finally got to second so it is great.` The Norwegians will concentrate this year on the Sailing World Cup events and will miss the Star Europeans.
470 Women Medal Race
The French 470 sailors dominated the Medal race. Once again, the fourth placed team made the most of the Medal race. Ingrid Petitjean and Nadege Douroux (FRA) fourth this morning, placed second behind Emmanuelle Rol and Helene de France (FRA) to take Bronze. Giulia Conti and Giovanna Micol (ITA) and World Champions Lisa Westerhof/Lobke Berkhout (NED) keep their earlier position. The Italians wins the 2010 Delta Lloyd Regatta.
Sunday will see plenty more actions on Ijsselmeer. The remaining medal races will be sailed as well as a last race for the 2.4 and for the sailors not selected for the Medal race.
Laser radial
Evi van Acker (BEL) won both races today and closed the gap with Marit Bouwmeester (NED) before the Medal race. `I had good starts`, explained Evi, `I over stood the top mark and got 5th at top mark but caught up down wind to win. For the second race I had a good start, but again over stood the top mark; luckily, I took a gust and went from 15th to 3rd at the bottom mark then tacked away and grabbed the lead. This week I have won races in both extreme conditions and feel good about tomorrow`s Medal race.`
Laser
Tom Slingsby (AUS) conserves the lead in the Laser Gold fleet. The Australian who is racing his first international event this year in the Delta Lloyd Regatta explains: `There is still a long way until the Olympics so I prefer to take it easy and not race too much. I am now in Europe for four years. I use this regatta to train before our Europeans in Estonia. Then I will go to Kiel, Weymouth and finally the Worlds in England in September. I stay in Europe for four months. It`s hard to travel to all the events when you live in Australia but once in Europe it is easier to travel around.
About his regatta: `I didn`t expect to do so well. I am comfortable in the breeze but still need to improve in the light even if I have made some good progress. I know I can still improve everything a little more. I need to find a bit more `finesse` that the Europeans have!`
Slingsby has a comfortable 16 points lead going into the Medal race.
49er
Nico Delle Karth and Nikolau Resch (AUT) will start the 49er Medal race as favourite : `We have been quite consistent this week. We are happy to be in the top 3 with such a big fleet. We are going into the Medal race with a six point lead, which is nice. I hope that the Australians and the New-Zealanders who are just one point apart will cover each others, but it might not happen! We haven`t won any regatta since Miami OCR last year so we are ready to take another one.` The Australians Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen are in second, only one point from New-Zealanders Peter Burling and Blair Tuke. Only the top four can claim Gold on Sunday.
Finn
The Finn medal race will be very close with 15 points separating the top five. A talented field of sailors within the top ten will provide for interesting racing. Double European champion and World n1 sailor Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) will start with a narrow five points lead over Athens Silver medallist, Rafael Trujillo from Spain, and nine points over Beijing silver medallist, Zach Railey (USA).
RS:X
The RS:X were again the last ones to finish. The dying wind in the afternoon only allowed for one race in the men`s Gold fleet. Przemek Miarcynski (POL) has realised a real performance this week scoring seven top five results including four victories. Team mate Piotr Myszka has climber to second overall, one point only from third and fourth overall Nimrod Mashiah (ISR) and Alexandre Guyader (FRA). The medal race will be a clash of champions.
With expected strong wind reaching 30 knots, the RS:X Medal race will provide plenty of excitements.
The RS:X women results are not yet released.
2.4mR
The 2.4 will sail an extra fleet race on Sunday. Damien Seguin (FRA) is closing the gap over regatta leader Thiery Schmitter (NED). British ladies Helena Lucas and Megan Pascoe are also keeping close to the score with Pascoe winning her second race today.
Sunday will have a heavy schedule.
Match racing
Apart for the Medal races, the Women will sail their semi-finals and finals. Lucy MacGregor (GBR) will meet Sofia Bekatorou (GRE) and Tamara Echegoyen will race against Anne-Claire Leberre (FRA)
"Perfect Conditions On Third Day Of Racing In Medemblik
Wind and sunshine provided for great racing during the third day of the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, fifth event in the ISAF Sailing World Cup series.
The north westerly breeze reached 20 knots, allowing all classes to sail according to schedule.
Women’s Match Racing
The Women’s Match Racing started at 0930hrs. At the end of the day 13 flights have been completed, with five for the repecharge. The teams of Tamara Echegoyen (ESP) and Nicky Souter (AUS) won four races out of five and will join the Gold fleet on Saturday.
Ekaterina Skudina (RUS) started her match racing campaign last year in Medemblik during the Delta Lloyd Regatta. “We have come a long way” declares Skudina. “I can’t believe we have started one year ago. We got our boats in February and trained with one of the top Russian match-racers. This made us progress, improving steadily at each regatta,” Skudina and her team claimed the European Championship in early May after a close final with Lucy MacGregor (GBR). Skudina has qualified for the Gold round robin with 100% victories.
49er
Four races were sailed back to back in the 49ers, the leadership changing in the Gold fleet. 2009 European Champions, Pietro and Gianfranco Sibello (ITA) take the lead for the first time in the regatta on equal points with early leaders Nico Delle Karth and Nikolau Resch (AUT).
“We are sailing well again”, explains Pietro Sibello “This year we have started every regatta with a disqualification at the start. Yesterday we were good enough to stay calm, concentrate on the shifts and stay close to the other boats. This series of OCS scores has made us doubt, and take unnecessary risks.”
The 49ers are racing in Medemblik on two different race areas. Whilst it does make it difficult for the coaches to follow racing, most sailors appreciate it. “Today we raced four races back to back,” continues Pietro Sibello.
“We can do it because we have two racing areas. We don’t need to wait on shore while the other group races and we can also compete with the same weather conditions, which is fairer. I like to sail in Medemblik, it is the best regatta of the circuit for the 49ers, their are lots of boats, a great organisation and no wait!”
Laser Radial
The top four keep their places in the Laser Radial fleet. Marit Bouwmeester (NED) claimed a fourth victory with top five scores. The other races were claimed by defending champion and Hyères’ winner Tatiana Drozdovskaya (BLR) and Evi van Acker (BEL). The third race saw a close battle at the front between the Dutch and the Belgian.
“I made a stupid mistake on the beat, I tried to cover Evi, I went right but it didn’t work out, Evi sailed away”, explains Bouwmeester.
Laser
It was a hard day in the Laser class with most favourites scoring high points in at least one race. Tom Slingsby (AUS) enjoyed the windy conditions to take the lead from Matias del Solar (CHI) who suffered in the breeze. 2009 ISAF Sailing World Cup winner, Nick Thompson (GBR) climbs to second overall with Julio Alsogaray (ARG) in third.
Finn
It was great fun on the water for the Finn sailors who finally experienced some of the best conditions since the start of the year. World number one, Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) conserves the lead on equal points with early leader, Rafa Trujillo from Spain.
2.4mR
It is close racing in the 2.4mR with the top four boats within six points of each other. Thierry Schmitter (NED) has kept top place since day one. Damien Seguin (FRA) won the last race, and is in second overall, only two points from first. Two Brits, Helena Lucas and Megan Pascoe are third and fourth.
“It was very close racing with Thierry and Megan” explains Damien Seguin. “It is good to have closed the gap with Thierry. Tomorrow will be a big fight with three races. The racing here is very challenging and it promises to be an interesting Worlds here next July!”
Gold medallist Paul Tingley (CAN) is enjoying racing in the Delta Lloyd Regatta “I like the short and steep waves. It does provide exciting and challenging races. There were many lead changes and I had a good spot from the back!”
470 Men
The windy conditions suited the Australian team of Matthew Belcher and Malcolm Page, scoring the best results in the 470 Men’s division. Placed 14th after Thursday’s light air races, the ISAF Sailing World Cup leaders gained 10 places to fourth overall.
“This is the first day with good wind for the whole season; it is good to stretch the back”, jokes Malcolm Page! The Beijing Gold Medallist who has teamed up with Matthew Belcher after the Olympics and is combining a Farr 40 campaign with the 470. “We want to do all the ISAF Sailing World Cup circuit regattas and the Farr 40 racing helps me to pay the bills. With most events in Europe we need this year to travel four times back and forth. We have spent nearly five months in Europe this year! We use these regattas to develop as a team and be well prepared for the Worlds.”
Nic Asher and Elliott Willis (GBR) are sailing away from the fleet, increasing their lead to 20 points over Gideon Kliger and Eran Sela (ISR). “So far it’s been an interesting regatta”, says Asher. “We had quite light winds to start off with, we were pretty happy with our speed and we sailed pretty conservatively. It was the first day of gold fleet today and we had a bit of breeze. Again we were pretty fast, sailed pretty well again and managed to pull out a 20 point lead, so we’re happy.”
470 Women
Italian team Giulia Conti and Giovanna Micol take the lead in the Women’s division with top four results including a victory. They are on equal points with Henriette Koch and Lene Sommer of Denmark. The Dutch team of Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout proved they love the breeze. The World Champions have taken two races and placed sixth. They are now only six points from the lead.
The 470’s will finish their programme on Saturday with two last races before completing the Medal races at 1800hrs for the Men and 1920hrs for the Women.
Star
The Norwegian team of Eivind Melleby and Petter Morland Pedersen continue in their domination of the Star fleet with top two scores. Second place goes to Marin Lovrovic and Sinisa Mikulicic (CRO) and third to Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominik Zycki (POL).
The Star will also race their Medal race on Saturday at 1840hrs after two fleet races in the morning.
The RS:X results are not available at the time of going to press.
The Medal races will be broadcasted live on www.deltalloydregatta.tv with 3D tracking integrated in the footage.
The 2.4mR and Star fleet races can be followed on www.deltalloydregatta.org with 3D tracking and tracing.
Regular Twitter updates will keep everyone informed throughout the day. news, pictures and videos will be available daily on the event website and the Sailing World Cup Facebook site.
Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sailing-World-Cup/108423949339)
Twitter (http://twitter.com/DeltaLloydRegat)
For more details visit the regatta website : www.deltalloydregatta.org
For the latest news, photos and videos, as well as Standings, event details and more, visit the ISAF Sailing World Cup website at www.sailing.org/worldcup
"Light wind delays racing at Delta Lloyd Regatta
It was a very long day in Medemblik, during the second day of the Delta Lloyd regatta. As expected the wind remained light during the morning before dying totally.
While the Star class was the only one to finish the two programmed races, the Laser radial and the 470 men could only complete two races. The other fleets waited on the water attempting to start before being sent back to shore.
The faith and patience of the racing committee paid its dividend, the wind finally reappeared from the North West allowing for racing to resume for the other classes expect for the 2.4.
The different conditions saw a change of leader in half of the classes, while the other have increased their lead.
Star
Eivin Melleby and Petter Morland Pedersen have increased their lead on the Star fleet after winning a race and placing second. Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominik Zycki (POL) are now on equal points with last race winner Mate Arapov and Ante Sitic from Croatia.
Laser
Only one race was sailed in the Laser who will continue their qualifications round tomorrow. Mattias del Solar (CHI) takes the lead after placing third. Javier Hernandez takes second overall after adding 20 points to his score. Tom Slingsby loses a place to third.
The day`s only race goes to Roelof Bouwmeester (Marit`s brother) who climbs to 6th overall.
Laser radial
Marit Bouwmeester added a third victory to her score in the day`s first race increasing her overall lead over Veronika Fenclova (CZE) and last race winner, Evi van Acker (BEL). Tina Mihelic (CRO), discards her earlier disqualification at the start and climb to fourth overall. `I have had problems with my starts. I broke the start twice in Hyeres and once again yesterday! But today I was careful and it went well.` With top 4 results, the young Croat is in good form and could soon challenge the top three. `I am fast downwind, I always pass a few boats.` When asked about her objectives on this regatta, the Trofeo Sofia Mapfre winner explains: `I am testing new equipment and my speed before the European championship.`
470 Men
The dying wind created many upset among the 4704s Blue group; only 12 boats could finish the fifth race within the time limit, leaving 29 teams with a DNF. With the regrouping tonight into Gold and Silver finals, this last race will have a strong impact on the regatta.
Nic Asher and Elliott Willis (GBR) are keeping the lead over Gideon Kliger and Eran Sela (ISR) and French Pierre Leboucher / Vincent Garos.
470 Women
Hannah Mills and Claire Cumming are the new leader of the 470 women fleet. `I think it was a day to be punchy at the corners rather than conservative in the middle as the wind seemed to fill back in towards the edges of the course and also, when you had a lane and saw pressure ahead just to stick with it. I think that`s what worked well for us today.` explained Mills. The best results today go to Danish duo of Henriette Koch and Lene Sommer who take second overall after a 4th and a first.
Finn
One race was raced in the Finn in light and shifty wind. European Champion Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) won the race and takes the lead from Rafael Trujillo who finished in 20th place and drops to fourth. Second place overall is Miami OCR and Trofeo Sofia Mapfre winner, Ed Wright (ESP). `The wind had gone right before the start` explains Gaspic. `For me it was obvious it had to go back to the left so I took this option. I took the shift had got to the top mark in first. The wind kept turning and we had to beat to the second mark.It was a hard race because we had to play the shifts and the puffs but it was great fun!
49er
Nico Delle-Karth and Nikolaus Resch take the lead in the 49ers with a safety 11 points margin over Dylan Fletcher and Alan Sign (GBR) on equal points with Manu Dyen/Stephane Christidis (FRA) and the Riegel brothers from Germany. The 49ers will start to race in Gold and Silver fleets on Friday.
RS:X
Blanca Manchon is keeping the lead in the strong RS:X women fleet. Australian Jessica Crisp is winning the day`s race. Piotr Myszka (POL) and Maksym Oberemko (UKR) won the Men`s races. Nimrod Mashiah keeps a narrow lead over Alexandre Guyader and Nick Dempsey.
It took all day to conclude the Match racing Opening series. Ekaterina Skudina and her team have been steadily improving since the start of the year. They have won all their matches in the Delta Lloyd regatta opening series and qualify into the Gold Round robin with Sofia Bekatorou from Greece with in the other groups, Anna Kjellberg (SWE), Lucy MacGregor (GBR), Anne-Claire Leberre (FRA) and Renee Goeneveld (NED). The teams qualified for the Repechage are: Ru Wang from China, Julie Bossard (FRA), Katie Spithill (AUS), Nicky Souter (AUS), Mary Rook (GBR) and Tamara Echegoyen (ESP).
The Match racing will start tomorrow morning at 9.30 am.
The wind is expected to start at 7 knots in the morning in to increase up to 17 knots in the afternoon.
"Melvin and Shaver Hold on to Win U.S. Multihull Championship
Through four days of racing and nine races complete, the team of Pete Melvin (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Nat Shaver (Long Beach, Calif.) have won US SAILING’s 2010 U.S. Multihull Championship, hosted by the Houston Yacht Club. Melvin and Shaver had a lead after each day of racing throughout the event.
Their fourth place finish in Thursday’s lone race was good enough to keep the hard charging team of Greg Thomas (Temecula, Calif.) and Jacques Bernier (San Marcos, Calif.) at bay. Thomas and Bernier made it close by posting a bullet today. They also finished first and third yesterday. Melvin and Shaver had a five point lead entering today’s racing, and held on to win the championship by two points.
Shaver and Melvin were sailing together for the first time.
“Our plan was to race consistently,” Melvin said. “There were so many good teams, the courses were short, and we were using the same boats.”
Michael Easton (Lexington, Ma.) and Tripp Burd (Marblehead, Ma.) moved up a spot from fourth to third by finishing second today. Meanwhile, 2008 USMC Champion, Alex Shafer (Clermont, Fla.) and his teammate Nigel Pitt (Hartwell, Ga.) dropped to fourth. Olli Jason (Oldsmar, Fla.) and Patrick Gilles (Madison, Wisc.) had another solid performance. They finished third in today’s race and fifth overall. Two-time winners of the event and defending champions, John Casey (Longwood, Fla.) and John Williams (Long Beach, Calif.) finished the championship in sixth place. Winds were blowing at approximately five knots today on the calm waters of Galveston Bay.
A former national champion in the 420 and 470 classes, Melvin picked up catamaran sailing in the late 1980s. He won the 1988 Olympic Trials in the Tornado class. Soon after, he sailed in the ProSail professional sailing circuit in 1989 and won the Hobie 21 series.
“I always admired these boats, and eventually I got one,” mentioned Melvin. “It was a revelation at first. These boats are demanding and fast. I think it’s one of the better ends of the sport you can be in.”
This event is sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A., Dry Creek Vineyard, and Hobie Polarized Sunglasses. The C2 F-18s are provided by our official suppliers at Australian High Performance Catamarans and Fun in the Sun Services.
For more information on the U.S. Multihull Championship, visit the event website at http://championships.ussailing.org/Adult/USMHChampionship.htm.
"Yachting New Zealand Announce Sailors Selected For 2010 Volvo Youth Worlds
The 2010 Volvo Youth Worlds celebrates its 40th anniversary in Istanbul, Turkey from 8 - 17 July.
A total of 344 sailors from 63 countries are registered to compete in what looks to be a competitive regatta for the best young sailors in the world. The Yachting New Zealand fields a strong team in the hunt for medals.
Selected for the 2010 NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team are:
Male Laser Radial - Thomas Saunders, Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club (Age 17 years)
Female Laser Radial – Molly Meech, Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club (Age 17 years)
Male RS:X – Oliver Gunman, Takapuna Boating Club (Age 17 years)
Female RS:X – Georgia Schofield, Takapuna Boating Club (Age 16 years)
Male 420 Helm – James Turner,Lake Taupo Yacht Club & Murrays Bay Sailing Club (Age 18 years)
Male 420 Crew – Logan Dunning-Beck, Wakatere Boating Club (Age 16 years)
Female 420 Helm – Erica Dawson, Murrays Bay Sailing Club (Age 15 years)
Female 420 Crew – Vicky Francis, Murrays Bay Sailing Club (Age 17 years)
Open 29er Helm – Alexandra Maloney, Murrays Bay Sailing Club (Age 18 years)
Open 29er Crew – Sam Bullock, Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club (Age 17 years)
Open Multihull – Naomi Mannering, Napier Sailing Club (Age 16 years)
Open Multihull – Josh Porebski, Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club (Age 17 years)
“All of these sailors know to expect a high level of competition and are aware of what’s required to do well at the Youth Worlds,” says Yachting New Zealand Youth Development Manager, Ian Neely. “They are training hard and focussed on returning good results for New Zealand in 2010.”
Three of the twelve sailors named have previous Youth Worlds experience having competed in Brazil as representatives in the 2009 NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team. They include Alexandra Maloney, Logan Dunning-Beck and James Turner.
Alexandra Maloney narrowly missed a bronze medal last year to finish fourth in the Girl’s 420 class, however she went on to win the Open Women’s International 420 World Champs in Italy the following week. This year Maloney, who represents the Murrays Bay Sailing Club on Auckland’s North Shore, is sailing at the helm of 29er skiff with Sam Bullock from Tauranga as crew.
Logan Dunning-Beck returns to the national team in the Boy’s 420 event in which he placed eighth last year. The third returning member of the team, James Turner, of Lake Taupo origin is at the helm of the Boy’s 420. In 2009 Turner competed in the open multihull class.
Thomas Saunders, from Tauranga debuts in the NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team this year, but has some top sailing achievements to his name already. This year he took out the Laser Radial division at Singapore Airlines Sail Auckland Regatta and the Laser Radial National Championship title.
Both of the 420 crews, as well as the 29er pair will travel early and compete in major regattas in the lead-up to the Youth Worlds, the 420’s at Kiel Week in Germany, and the 29er in the 29er European Champs in Spain. New Zealand’s Laser Radial representatives, Saunders and Meech, will be at the Istanbul venue early to prepare.
For the first time the team includes twelve sailors with the introduction of the 29er as an open event at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships. Over recent years the regatta’s girls and boys double-handed events have featured either the 420 or the 29er, but not both, at the discretion of the host venue.
2010 sees the inclusion of the Girls’ 420, Boy’s 420 as well as the Open 29er, which makes for a full team of twelve sailors as opposed to ten in recent years. The Istanbul hosts have chosen the SL 16, over the Hobie, as the boat for the Open Multihull event.
The coaching team to travel to Istanbul with the 2010 NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team includes Ian Neely, Grant Beck and Natalia Kosinska.
Neely is Yachting New Zealand’s Youth Development Manager and an experienced coach and Kosinska is a former youth worlds gold medallist for Poland in board sailing. Grant Beck is one of New Zealand’s most accomplished coaches having supported Barbara Kendall and Tom Ashley to multiple Olympic medals. His son Logan is in the team.
Jim Maloney, father of sailor Alexandra, will also be in Istanbul with the team bringing his wealth of knowledge and experience.
"Tactical racing for Delta Lloyd Regatta opening day
Shifty but increasing wind has provided for tactical racing during the opening day of the 2010 Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, 5th event in the Sailing World cup.
The first half of the Opening Round robin has been completed with 4 matches sailed by the 24 crews in the Women match racing. The teams of MacGregor (GBR), Roca (ESP), Skudina (RUS) and Groeneveld (NED) succeeded in winning all their matches.
After four races in the 49er, the young British team of Dave Evans and Ed Powis is leading the fleet. They are 5 points from the World Number 1, Manu Dyen and Stéphane Christidis (FRA) who won the third race:
`The conditions were very tough today, the wind was shifty and there was lots of pressure difference on the racing area which can result in great speed difference. In the 49er, you need to be very reactive and be ready to take quick decisions.`
The French pair has started the year by claiming both the Rolex Miami OCR and the Trofeo Sofia Mapfre in Palma. They are ready to claim another Sailing world Cup title:
`We were tired in Hyeres and didn`t perform our best. We hope to regain our earlier good form and be ready for the European Championship in Poland next July. We will be racing also in Kiel and hope to do well to claim the Sailing World Cup title.`
The Frenchs are second in the Sailing World Cup standings, behind the Austrians Delle-Karth/Resch.
After two races, ISAF Sailing World Cup leaders, Eivind Melleby and Petter Morland Pedersen (NOR) are leading the Star fleet. After winning the Rolex Miami OCR and Hyeres week, the Norwegian have set their objective this year in winning the new Olympic classes circuit. With 16 boats in the Dutch event, the level is higher and racing today proved challenging.
`Some of the top teams are back in the circuit. The Polish (Mateusz Kusznierewicz and crew Dominik Zycki) are very strong and won the first race. We were leading at the top mark but the pressure left and we fell into a hole with nearly no wind. The fleet caught up. In the second race we chose the wrong side, we came back slowly, gaining one boat at a time to place second to Marin Lovrovic and Sinisa Mikulicic (CRO).`
After a long break, Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominik Zycki (POL) are back in the international circuit:
`We like to come and race in the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik. This year we have decided to take it easy and sail only three events. This is the first one this year and we are still a bit rusty. We have made some small changes to our boat and need to test them before the Star European Championship early June.`
The Polish are second overall after taking the first race and placing 5th in the second.
`We were leading the first race but collected a penalty and dropped to 5th. We managed to pass two boats and got lucky on the finish when the top two boats crossed the line on the wrong side!`
The wind increasing throughout the day provided the best conditions ever this year for the Finn sailors.
`This is the first event when we race on the first day!` commented Beijing Silver medallist Zach Rayley (USA).
`This is the first time this year that my legs are aching! The first windy day!` announced Rafa Trujillo (ESP), with a big smile.
The Spanish, sailed a near perfect day collecting a bullet in the first race and finishing second in the next. Railey took the second race and the second position overall, one point from Miami and Palma winner, Ed Wright (GBR).
Nic Hasher and Elliott Willis (GBR) are leading the 470 men with consistent results (1-2-4) over German team of Wagner/Scheufler.
`It was a really good day for us.`, commented Asher. `The wind was pretty shifty with a few big holes but we stayed pretty conservative in our approach, stayed towards the middle of the course and didn't make any big mistakes.`
`It was good to have some speed out there, we`re trying some new things and we`ve got a new boat for this event which we`ve done a few days of training in down in Weymouth. It`s all going well so far a long way to go yet though!`
Defending champion, Marit Bouwmeester (NED) is leading the Laser radial after two victories and a fourth. 'On this kind of day, you have to stay close to the other boats. The conditions were hard and the wind wasn`t clear. I didn`t have a strategy, I was careful to react to the wind shift and go along with what happen. I have a good speed downwind so that helped me a lot.`
Veronika Fenclova (CZE) and Evi van Acker (BEL) are on equal points in second and third place respectively.
2009 RS:X Vice World Champion, Nimrod Mashiah (ISR) enjoyed today`s conditions with a five points score after three races sailed in the two RS:X groups. He is two points ahead of Alexandre Guyader (FRA) and current World Champion, Nick Dempsey (GBR).
The RS:X women raced late and results are not yet available.
In top form after winning Hyeres, the French team of Emmanuelle Rol and Hyene de France is holding a close lead over Dutch team Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout on equal points with Penny Clark and Katrina Hughes (GBR).
`The first race was very shifty and you had to be very careful. The wind increased by the third race and everybody enjoyed it.` explained the French duo. `The Delta Lloyd Regatta last year was our first event together and we finished second!`
With top results collected in the start of the season and a victory at the Semaine Olympique Francaise, the French pair is proving again to be amongst the favourites for the title.
The 2.4 fleet in Medemblik is probably one of the most challenging from all the SWC events to date. With 18 boats and 8 countries. The IFDS World Championship in Medemblik next July has motivated top sailors to attend the Delta Lloyd Regatta to gain some good practice on the Ijsselmeer. With the Sonar not included in the event, many Sonar sailors have decided to race in the 2.4., like John Robertson from Great Britain.
Dutch sailor Thierry Schmitter has made the most of the training sessions in Medemblik with the Dutch team, winning two races and leading the scoreboard: `Training here did make the difference today. Racing was tricky, real Ijsselmeer conditions. The waves were short and steep and plenty of wind shifts. If you miss the first one you are gone!`
Same comment for French Damien Seguin who has found the conditions pretty testing, especially in such a low boat. `The waves here make it hard; this place is very different from other racing area.` The French, who places second after three races, has raced his first event in Medemblik in 2002 for the World Championship where he took Silver.
The two Laser groups were last to finish. Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mapfre winner, Javier Hernandez is leading the fleet from Australian Tom Slingsby and Mattias del Solar (CHI).
Sailing will resume on Thursday with the last chance for classes racing in groups to qualify for the Gold fleet. The Women Match racers will finish the opening round robin.
Unfortunately, the wind which had been increasing all evening will be very light on Thursday.
"Melvin in Control at U.S. Multihull Championship
Pete Melvin (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Nat Shaver (Long Beach, Calif. ) have increased their lead again over the field of 20 competing teams at US SAILING’s 2010 U.S. Multihull Championship (USMC), hosted by the Houston Yacht Club. Melvin and Shafer have a five point lead going into tomorrow’s final day of racing.
Both A and B Divisions have completed eight races, including two on Wednesday. Racing was postponed this morning due to lack of wind. When racing started, Melvin and Shafer picked up where they left off from Tuesday and Monday. They posted their fourth second place finish of the event in race seven, and have finished in the top three in six of eight races.
The team of Greg Thomas (Temecula, Calif.) and Jacques Bernier (San Marcos, Calif.) moved up two spots from fourth to second following their win in race seven and a third in race eight. The win was their first of the championship. The 2008 USMC Champion, Alex Shafer (Clermont, Fla.) and his teammate Nigel Pitt (Hartwell, Ga.) remain in third place, 10 points behind the leaders.
Other notables include two-time winners of the event and defending champions, John Casey (Longwood, Fla.) and John Williams (Long Beach, Calif.). Casey and Williams won their first race of the event in race eight. They are in seventh place. Olli Jason (Oldsmar, Fla.) and Patrick Gilles (Madison, Wisc.) had good day on the water. They posted fourth and second place finishes today.
This event is sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A., Dry Creek Vineyard, and Hobie Polarized Sunglasses. The C2 F-18s are provided by our official suppliers at Australian High Performance Catamarans and Fun in the Sun Services.
For more information on the U.S. Multihull Championship, visit the event website at http://championships.ussailing.org/Adult/USMHChampionship.htm.
"2009 ISAF Match Racing World Champion Minoprio Wins Stage 2
Mighty Mother Nature was Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing's best friend as he took the Match Race Germany Trophy.
The finals at Stage 2 of the ISAF World Match Racing Tour have been tortuous for the remaining racers. The wisps of wind that did strike the glassy lake today taunted the Tour’s competitors.
A jubilant Adam Minoprio (NZL) and his team shared their joy, “It’s unfortunate when no wind comes in. We felt we started sailing better as the regatta went on finishing the round robin on eight wins with Richard and Williams. We have been fortunate enough today to take out the regatta”.
Semi final stage was cut short at midday after no morning racing; Jesper Radich (DEN) Radich Racing Team went through to the finals over a disappointed Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team at 2-1. Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing cemented his finals spot after yesterday’s score of 2-1 over ‘birthday boy’ Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team.
As the air temperature soared to 26 degrees, so too did the tension on board the race boats. The yellow and black ‘standby flag’ hung limply on the race committee’s boat which further infuriated the skippers who desperately needed action to be in with a champion chance. The anxiety of waiting for wind is tough on a crew’s mental focus and motivation. “It plays with your head”, said Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing.
Current ISAF Match Racing World Champion, Minoprio, kept his fingers crossed and joked with his bathing beauty team mates throughout the waiting room ordeal. For the Kiwi no racing meant a guaranteed number 1 finish. Activity today was mostly online with the WMRT live blog and interactive social media feeds, Mark Chisnell, WMRT’s dedicated commentator, kept everyone positive and said, “It’s a lake and therefore things do change very quickly”.
But sadly nothing changed and by 16:00 hours the race committee stopped the dormant drifting and decided on a boat parade for the fans announced through a blaze of horns akin to that of the Volvo Ocean Race starts.
Radich, a newly rejuvenated match racer, was slightly down hearted on not being able to race the final. “It would have been great to race the current World Champion as my team and I were really on form to take on the final after winning the semi matches yesterday. I know tomorrow I will look back and be pleased with our performance and I am now having a serious think about getting back into match racing if I can keep this team together. It’s such a great sport to be in”.
In the overall 2010 Tour standings, France’s Richard stays in the lead and Minoprio takes an outstanding leap from 6th to 2nd place, with Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN in joint 3rd with Radich.
The ever diplomatic Richard, who was victor of Stage 1, was happy to share his thoughts. “It was a frustrating day. We felt we could have won the first 2 matches yesterday but we lost, so today we really wanted to race the semi-finals. Unfortunately the wind decided the results for us and being in third place is not a bad result, I can’t complain about it”.
Richard is now looking forward to a debriefing with his team on this event and heading home for some relaxation time before Korea Match Cup in June, where they will be back stronger.
Travel plans will now shift to Korea Match Cup, Stage 3 of the ISAF World Match Racing Tour happening at the beginning of June. This will be the first 2010 event outside of Europe and could see the likes of new hot shot Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing Team taking advantage of his previous regatta training at this unique venue that is also to host the Korean International Boat Show while the Tour event plays out.
Day 5: Overall Standings
1 Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch Racing 25 Points
2 Jesper Radich (SWE) Radich Racing Team 20 Points
3 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 15 Points
4 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 12 Points
5 Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 10 Points
6 Peter Gilmour (AUS) Yanmar Racing 8 Points
7 Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge 6 Points
8 Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia 4 Points
9 Ian Ainslie (RSA) Team Proximo
10 Mads Ebler (DEN) Ebler Matchracing
11 Kathrin Kadelbach (GER) EWE Sailing Team
12 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team
2010 ISAF World Match Racing Tour Standings
(After Event 2 of 10)
1 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 40 Points
2 Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch Racing 33 Points
3 Jesper Radich (SWE) Radich Racing Team 20 Points
- Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN 20 Points
5 Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia 16 Points
- Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 16 Points
7 Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 15 Points
8 Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 10 Points
- Sebastian Col (FRA) ALL 4 ONE 10 Points
For more information on WMRT, please visit: www.wmrt.com or for Match Race Germany, please visit www.matchrace.de
"30 Olympic Medallists Will Compete At Delta Lloyd Regatta 2010
Thirty Olympic medallists are preparing for battle at the Delta Lloyd Regatta 2010 in Medemblik.
This fifth event in the ISAF Sailing World Cup series has attracted a very talented field with numerous world champions. The 2010 edition has set record high pre-entries in all classes including the 2.4m with a total of 707 boats from 53 countries. As usual, the largest fleets are the Laser, RS:X Men and 470 Women. Racing will start on Wednesday 26 May and will conclude with the medal races on Sunday 30 May.
"We have two years to go until the 2012 Olympic Games. All campaigns are at full strength, which makes it an interesting and strong competition. We look forward to welcoming the top international sailors to Medemblik", says Arjen Rahusen, Chairman of the Delta Lloyd Regatta.
The Dutch team will be present in all classes with many opportunities to take medals. Dorian Van rijsselberge (RS:X) and Thierry Schmitter (2.4m) will defend their titles at home. Marit Bouwmeester who is leading the standings after a victory in Melbourne will try to add another SWC title. She will face 2009 winner Tatiana Drozdovskaya (BLR) and 2010 Palma winner Tina Mihelic (CRO), among a talented field in the Laser Radial.
2009 Champions will be back to defend their title in ten out of the eleven Olympic and Paralympic classes competing in the Delta Lloyd Regatta, with the exception of the Star class.
Blanca Manchon (ESP) in the RS:X and Ed Wright in the Finns will also aim to retain their 2009 World Cup titles.
Paul Goodison (GBR) will start the event as hot favourite in the Laser class. The 2008 Gold medallist and world number one has just claimed victory in the Semaine Olympique Française in Hyères.
Pierre Leboucher and Vincent Garros won the third ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta in Palma de Mallorca during the Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mapfre and will be keen to prove themselves again in a strong 470 fleet. In the women’s division, world number two Ai Kondo and Wakako Tabata (JPN) are back to fight for their title. Main opponents include last year’s runner up Emmanuelle Rol and Hélène Defrance. The French pair claimed victory in Hyères and lead the ISAF Sailing World Cup standings.
In the 49er, double world champion, Australia’s Nathan Outteridge and crew Iain Jensen are making their come back to the European circuit at the Delta Lloyd Regatta. They are aiming to defend their title. The brothers, Pietro Sibello and Gianfranco Sibello (ITA), in good shape after their recent win in Garda, also want to prove why they are one of the leaders in the world rankings.
The British trio of Lucy Macgregor, Annie Lush and Ally Martin will face 23 teams in the Womens Match Racing division sailed for the first time in Medemblik in the new Elliott 6 boats.
The only champions absent among last year’s winners will be Brazilians Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada in the Star class. After winning both the Rolex Miami OCR and the Semaine Olympique Française in Hyères, the Norwegians Eivind Melleby and Petter Moer are the favourites for the Delta Lloyd Regatta title as well as the 2010 Sailing World Cup.
The Delta Lloyd Regatta will mark the come back to international competition this year for Pieter-Jan Postma (NED) in the Finn class, Polish duo Mateusz Kusznierewicz (2 Olympic medals) and Dominic Zycki in the Star and double world Laser champion, Tom Slingsby of Australia.
After claiming a Finn bronze medal in Atlanta in 1996, Roy Heiner (NED) had turned to match racing, Soling and ocean racing. A recent and successful comeback to the Finn scene during the Dutch Open championship last September has motivated Heiner for more! He will participate in this year Delta Lloyd Regatta in the Finns, fourteen years after his medal and retirement from the Finn scene!
As of Friday May 28, the Dutch company Mylaps will take care of the live 3D online tracing & tracking of the 470 competition and the medal races. The medal races will also be broadcasted live from various camera angles. All the coverage will be shown on www.deltalloydregatta.org
For the latest news, photos and videos, as well as Standings, event details and more, visit the ISAF Sailing World Cup website at www.sailing.org/worldcup
"Two World Champions Knocked Out - One Remains
There were a series of Quarter Final fights for first place on Day 4 of Match Race Germany.
Two previous ISAF Match Racing World Champions; Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing and Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar were knocked out in the quarters whilst Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing and Jesper Radich (DEN) Radich Racing Team remained.
Radich is back in the game after a two year break from match racing, “It’s great to be back behind the wheel, I can definitely feel that I’ve taken time out but it’s all coming back to me. My crew have been amazing”, said a satisfied Radich.
Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing, the current World Champion, sailed through to the semi finals after defeating Peter Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge. Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team clinched victory over Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing after a controversial call by Gilmour’s team which took them round the wrong windward mark and Jesper Radich (DEN) Radich Racing Team destroyed the hope of a semi final spot for Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar.
This is a turning point for Mirsky who according to Gilmour has a “long and high profile career ahead of him” – he has beaten his master, who Mirsky back in Marseille said was his ‘inspiration’ to take up this sport.
Minoprio was confident that he could beat Holmberg and did not disappoint. This is a major achievement for Minoprio as Holmberg is renowned as one of the most competitive sailors in the match racing scene having been involved with the Tour circuit since 1991, representing Sweden in the Olympics three times as well as having two America’s Cup campaigns under his belt. A hungry Minoprio after ten hours of racing chatted about the time he put in training with Holmberg before Stage 2, “I was worried at one point today that the training I put in with Holmberg would actually have worked against me and that he might beat us”.
The race committee cracked straight on into the semi finals as the skippers’ prayers for a more stable wind were answered. Minoprio came out on top against Mirsky beating him in two matches and Radich is two wins up on Richard.
Richard put his continued success down to maintaining a long term relationship with his crew, “I’ve been racing with my crew now for 10 years – in top teams you find that the crews are very stable, the good results come when you have a consistent crew. It’s a really key point to have the same crew. I think Gilmour is an example of what happens when you change your team line up too much”.
Results after Day 4:
Semi Finals after 3 Races:
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team vs Jesper Radich (DEN) Radich Sailing Team 1-2
Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing vs Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 2-1
Quarter Final Results:
Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing vs Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge 3-1
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar GBR vs Jesper Radich (DEN) Radich Sailing Team 2-3
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team vs Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 3-1
Overall Standings:
5 Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar
6 Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing
7 Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge
8 Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia
9 Ian Ainslie (RSA) Team Proximo
10 Mads Ebler (DEN) Ebler Matchracing
11 Kathrin Kadelbach (GER) EWE Sailing Team
12 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team
For more information on WMRT, please visit: www.wmrt.com or for Match Race Germany, please visit www.matchrace.de
"Big Dogs Take North American Title on Final Day
Pat Toole and the crew of 3 Big Dogs from Santa Barbara, Calif., put together five solid races Sunday to win the J/24 North American Championship, hosted by Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle. It was the first victory in a major regatta for the “Dogs” who sail out of the Santa Barbara Yacht Club.
“It was a great day of sailing – our best ever,” Toole said after the win.
What was the key for 3 Bit Dogs?
“It wasn’t our starts. In fact, the last start was horrible,” Toole said. “But even when we got bad starts, we were able to duck sterns and get in phase with the wind shifts right away and sail a long, correct board. That was it.”
Toole finished the regatta with a total of 27 points in 10 races sailed over three days. His finishes were 3, 1, 4, 5, (15), 1, 3, 1, 5, 4. Finishing second was Keith Whittemore of Seattle and his crew on Tundra Rose, with 33 points.
Tundra Rose was in the hunt, but hurt his chances by finishing 9th and 7th in Sunday’s third and fifth races, respectively. Scott Milne of Seattle and the crew of Tremendous Slouch were leading going into the last day after winning all three races Saturday, but finished third with deep finishes in four of the five races Sunday.
The wind Sunday was from the south and shifty at 8 to15 knots.
Whittemore congratulated 3 Big Dogs for their victory and said the competition was tough throughout the regatta.
“At the top of the fleet, getting by people was almost impossible,” he said. “You had to have a good start and go the right way, and if you didn’t do that you were back a ways. The three leaders were all up and down, but the 3 Dogs guys sailed the most consistent series.
“No doubt about it, they were solid all the time,” Whittemore added. “They had one down race, but other than that they did a great job and they deserved to win the series.”
Tom Niccoli, Tremendous Slouch trimmer, said the of the racing:
“It was phenomenal. I thought we did well, but it was harder today (Sunday) to get the settings right. It was up and down and there was a lot more wave action that made it harder for us to find a groove and get settled in. The Dogs were always going the right way with great boat speed and great sailing.”
Toole’s previous high finishes in big J/24 regattas included a third in the 2008 North Americans in Marina Del Ray and a third in the Nationals last year on San Francisco Bay.
His crew included Les Wolff, bow, Chris Stankevitz, mast, George Witter, pit, and Dale Turley, trimmer-tactician.
“This yacht club and these volunteers did a spectacular job,” Toole said. It takes a lot of work to put on an event like this.”
The top three finishers in the regatta win spots in the 2011 World Championships in Buenos Aires..
Bitburger, one of Germany’s largest brewers, which wants to expand its U.S. market share, was the title sponsor of the J/24 North American Championship. Other sponsors include Fat Bastard wine, Kvichak Marine Industries, Northwest Yachting Magazine, Quantum Sails, Cheap Diver, Shilshole Bay Marina, Skyweb Express, Harken, Team McLube, North Sails, Web 1 Marketing, CSR Marine and Seattle Yacht Club.
Photo Caption: Pat Toole and the crew of 3 Big Dogs lead the fleet upwind on the final day of the J/24 North American Championship regatta on Puget Sound.
"Richard Rules Round Robin & Secures A Spot in Semis at Match Race Germany
Day 3 of Match Race Germany saw Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team securing a safe spot in the Semi Finals, after a dramatic final luffing battle with Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar. Five skippers were however, pushed out of the event, namely Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia, Ian Ainslie (RSA) Team Proximo, Mads Ebler (DEN) Ebler Matchracing and Kathrin Kadelbach (GER) EWE Sailing Team have been pushed out of the event. Richard can now take a well earned rest during the Quarter Finals, which will feature Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar, Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing, Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team, Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing, Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge and Jesper Radich (DEN) Radich Racing Team.
“It was down to our last match against Ian Williams on whether we would go straight to the semi-finals or have to sail the quarter finals. We are lucky to have our coach here with us analysing our performance and the other teams, so we are constantly learning”, said a cool and calm Richard at the Quarter Finals boat draw.
Crystal clear skies and unbroken sun brought a glorious shine to the enchanted Alpine lake today. Fans of the ISAF World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) have been able to share these stunning visuals beamed to them across the world using cutting edge technology. The Tour has joined forces with global telecommunications giant, Alcatel-Lucent, to stream the Match Race Germany event live over the Internet using the latest LTE (Long Term Evolution) 4G Technology. This is the first time in the world that a German sports event has used the end-to-end LTE network solution. The next generation technology replaces the traditional complex, slower solution for streaming video at sports events. Originally, streaming relied on 3G technology at 380kbps but with 4G, the speed has increased to a remarkable 100Mbps.
Dr. Erich Zielinski who works in the End-to-End 4G/LTE Solutions division at Alcatel-Lucent is thrilled to be able to put the company’s expertise in LTE 4G technology in use during the Tour. “The quality of the video streams captured by onboard cameras and transmitted via LTE to the on-shore production studio has been excellent. The WMRT is a great opportunity to showcase the amazing value that LTE can provide for major sports events”.
Pierre Orphanidis, Editor of Valencia Sailing, related the impact of 4G streaming. "Once again, the WMRT is taking the lead and showing the sailing world the way to go with TV production and web streaming. I think Russell Coutts and Larry Ellison should take note of what is going on at Match Race Germany and apply it to the next America's Cup. What I like the most is the superb quality of the images and sound from on-board the racing yachts”.
Members of the public at the Match Race Germany event village watched the live streaming on big screens and were keen to share their views. “It is a great visual display of what is happening on the water, the on-board filming is a great advancement”. A Mirsky Racing crew’s family here with him said, “The different views on the live streaming provided an all-round experience, showing course overviews and on-deck filming”.
Meanwhile, Richard will be using his free time tomorrow to try and view the live streaming, “The live streaming is terrific for the Tour. It allows our family and friends at home to see the action and follow what we are doing. The pictures transmitted are really good quality, with user friendly commentary by Mark Chisnell that the non-sailors can also understand”.
Scheduled tomorrow the Quarter Finals put Gilmour up against Mirsky where sparks will fly as the fellow Australians fight it out. Gilmour foresaw a semi final slot for his YANMAR Racing Team earlier in the event and it may be the youngster who gets to prove this prediction wrong. Minoprio will have his work cut out against the legendary Holmberg with Williams taking on Radich.
According to Richard the key to winning the 2010 Tour is to have the right balance between remaining relaxed, while at the same time being totally concentrated, “This is a very fragile balance”.
Day 3: Results
Semi Finalist
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team
Quarterfinalists
Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing v Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar v Jesper Radich (DEN) Radich Racing Team
Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing v Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team
Overall Round Robin Standings
1 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 8-3
2 Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 8-3
3 Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 8-3
4 Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 7-4
5 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 7-4
6 Jesper Radich (DEN) Radich Racing Team 7-4
7 Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge 6-5
8 Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia 5-6
9 Ian Ainslie (RSA) Team Proximo 4-7
10 Mads Ebler (DEN) Ebler Matchracing 3-8
11 Kathrin Kadelbach (GER) EWE Sailing Team 2-9
12 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team 1-10
"US SAILING's 2010 Adult National Championship Season Opens with U.S. Multihull Championship
In wake of the excitement displayed for the America’s Cup, the overall intrigue and interest in multihull racing is at an all-time high. The timing could not be better for the 2010 U.S. Multihull Championship (USMC), a US SAILING National Championship event. This year’s USMC starts on Monday, May 24 in Shoreacres, Texas at the Houston Yacht Club (HYC), where multihull racing’s finest will clash on Galveston Bay in C2 F-18s for the right to hoist the Hobie Alter Trophy. Racing concludes on Thursday, May 27.
This year’s talented fleet features 20 teams, including defending champions, John Casey (Longwood, Fla.) and John Williams (Long Beach, Calif.). Casey and Williams won the event in 2007 and finished second in 2008. Last year’s runners-up, Mike Easton (Lexington, Ma.) and Tripp Burd (Marblehead, Ma.), will return to take another shot the elusive crown. Easton and Burd won the 2009 F-18 Canadian National Championship. They finished first out of 37 boats. They also finished fifth out of 28 at the 2009 F-18 North American Championship.
2008 champion, Alex Shafer (Eustis, Fla.) returns for a shot at claiming a second USMC title. Shafer is a three-time NACRA 20 North American Champion (2007-09). He finished second at the 2006 USMC. Last year’s third place finisher, John Tomko (Canyon Lake, Texas) will sail with Jonathan Farrar (New London, Conn.), who is stepping in as crew at the last minute for Ian Billings who injured his ankle. Tomko is a regular at the USMC, yet still awaits his first title. He finished third in 2007, fifth in 2006, and fourth in 2005.
The talented married Olympians, Pease and Jay Glaser (Long Beach, Calif.) finished seventh at the 2009 F-18 North American Championship. Pease is a 2000 Olympic Silver Medalist in the women’s two person dinghy event. Jay won a silver medal in the Mixed Multihull at the 1984 Olympics.
This event is sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A., Dry Creek Vineyard, and Hobie Polarized Sunglasses. The C2 F-18s are provided by our official suppliers at Australian High Performance Catamarans and Fun in the Sun Services.
For more information on the U.S. Multihull Championship, visit the event website at http://championships.ussailing.org/Adult/USMHChampionship.htm.
"Qatar To Host 2010 470 Junior World Championship
From 16-22 December 2010, the 470 Junior World Championships will take place from the Doha Sailing Club in Doha, Qatar and represent the 2010 season-ending finale of the 470 Championship calendar.
The 2010 470 Junior World Championships is an event accessible to all with a “pay and play” philosophy, a strategically located event venue, equality of competition and reduction of costs through supplied equipment.
Qatar was selected as the venue because it offers great sailing and also its geographic location makes it an extremely accessible venue with a particular appeal for competitors coming from Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
With supplied 470s, all boats will be exactly the same with no changes permitted to the equipment – so when the sailors get in their allocated boats they can be assured of a completely “level playing field”. Only the sailors' skill and sailing ability will secure their performance on the race course. Forty 470 dinghies are being provided by Sport Sails Centre in Poland, with sails provided by Olimpic in Italy. Boat rotation will be implemented across the fleets, which is likely to see the girls' sailing as a single fleet and two fleets for the boys/mixed teams.
Open to entries from sailors under the age of 22 years before 31 December 2010, the 470 Junior World Championships is set to attract a broad range of entries from around the world. A boost for those on the early stages of their 470 racing career will be the 470 Training Clinic which will take place immediately before the Junior Worlds to provide key race training.
The scheduled race programme covers 6 days, with a qualifying and final series consisting of up to 10 races before the Medal Race for the top ten and final fleet races for the other teams. A range of activities are planned ashore for those not racing, although race spectating is also likely to be a popular option with the proximity of the race course to the shore.
Commenting on the forthcoming 470 Junior World Championships, Stanislav Kassarov, President of the International 470 Class said,
“The selection of Doha, Qatar as the venue for the 2010 470 Junior World Championships represents a continuation of our approach to showcase the very best of junior 470 sailing in different regions around the world. Doha has demonstrated its ability to successfully host world class sailing events and the 470 Class is proud to be adding to that success. We are very excited by the opportunities the “pay and play” approach gives to increase the accessibility of 470 sailing, and we are also confident that we will attract new nations to continue to expand our strong base of active 470 sailing in more than 60 nations around the world.”
Racing on clear blue waters in what are expected to be perfect sailing conditions at that time of year, the 470 Junior World Championships presents all the ingredients for a perfect and very successful Championship.
A single entry fee of EUR2330 per team covers the 470 charter, accommodation, full board food, social events, local transport and of course full use of the club facilities; so all the sailors need to do is book their plane and arrive. The Organizing Committee is planning a varied cultural and excursion programme to introduce the sailors from around the world to the delights of Qatar and provide time for sailors to socialise together. Preferential accommodation rates are also being provided for coaches, team leaders, support teams, and parents.
Qatar is a small land mass of approximately 11.437 square kilometres, located down the west coast of The Gulf. Sailors can expect a moderate desert climate with warm temperatures and of course excellent sailing conditions. Qatar is justly proud of its heritage, with fine examples of traditional buildings and crafts and a magnificent Museum of Islamic Art. Doha hosted the 2006 Asian Games, which was the largest Asian Games ever held and included the 470 Men and 470 Women.
Visit the event website and enter online at: www.470.org/events
"Barkow Wins NYYC's Women's Match Race Regatta
Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) and her crew Elizabeth Kratzig (Miami Beach, Fla.), Suzy Leech (Simsbury, Conn.) and Alana O’Reilly (Charleston, S.C.) won the New York Yacht Club’s Women’s Match Racing regatta today at Harbour Court, earning a spot to compete at Sail for Gold in August and Sail Melbourne in December. Barkow defeated US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics’ Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) and her crew Molly Vandemoer (Redwood City, Calif.), Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) and Liz Bower (Rochester, N.Y.) in the first-to-three finals today 3-1.
“Today we cleared up our communication, and everything was a lot crisper,” said Barkow. “We made clear decisions and our boat handling was very smooth. Over the last four days at the clinic and through the round robin, we worked hard on the details, which helped make everything smooth. We are starting much better than at the previous events, which made decisions easier up the course.”
“We were very quick downwind and we made some big gains, but it was a fast upwind course. It was hard to stay close when it was so one side favored,” said Tunnicliffe, whose team won the International Women's Match Race Criterium in Calpe, Spain last week. “It was good coming straight from Spain, because it was a relaxed atmosphere to learn the boats and the conditions we’re sailing in. We had a lot of good people sailing; even the younger teams were good and picking it up quickly.”
NYYC hosted six women’s match racing teams for a two-day clinic, followed by a three-day regatta at Harbour Court in Newport, R.I., the venue of the 2010 Women’s World Match Racing Championship in September.
“This clinic and regatta was important for two main reasons: First, it was important to have the clinic before the regatta so we could pick key areas of the race course to work on, and then see them do that in the regatta, knowing they were more tuned in and advanced having just practiced it,” said Dave Perry, one of USSTAG’s match racing coaches and a renowned rules expert. “Second, it was important to have it at the NYYC, the host of the 2010 Women’s World Match Racing Championship in September. We learned a lot about the boats and the venue, and I feel very confident the U.S. team is much stronger as a result.”
Kaity Storck, a 470 sailor on the US Sailing Development Team, joined match racing veteran Katy Lovell’s team, which she said was a nice break from fleet racing and a terrific learning experience in match racing.
“I am new to match racing so I learned a lot,” she said. “Having a clinic with two really good coaches right before a regatta was so helpful. I learned from Dave Perry that it doesn’t need to be that complicated. If you just keep it simple, you’ll know what to do.
In addition to attracting the world’s best Olympic and Paralympic class sailors, Sail for Gold and Sail Melbourne are two of seven events on the ISAF Sailing World Cup circuit, and results at these events affect overall Sailing World Cup standings as well as world rankings. Sail for Gold is held at the same venue of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Weymouth and Portland, England.
“We look forward to competing in Weymouth because it’s important to have experience in the venue of the 2012 Olympic Games and in the format of the ISAF Sailing World Cup events,” added Barkow.
For more information, please visit the NYYC web site: http://nyyc.org/womensmrclinic/
To view photos from the clinic and regatta, please visit: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/Multimedia/Photos/2010_NYYC_WMR.htm
"US SAILING's Interview with Stanford Coach John Vandemoer
In an attempt to educate the sailing community about the "ins-and-outs" of college sailing, US SAILING interviewed the head coach of Stanford University's sailing team, John Vandemoer. In this question and answer session with Vandemoer, he discusses a number of relevant topics surrounding college sailing, including an approach to practice plans, what he looks for in potential recruits, making the transition to the college game, offseason training, and more... This is an outstanding resource for coaches interested in taking a shot at the college ranks and for high school sailors interested in sailing at the collegiate level.
When developing your weekly practice plans, briefly discuss the criteria you use when preparing for your next regatta… How do your practice plans change day-to-day through the course of a week?
We stick with a season plan and try not to be too reactionary to what happened the weekend before. We do set up our weekly and seasonal plan based on the boats we will be sailing and the venues. For instance, if we are going to be sailing a big 420 event we will practice in 420's and highlight the differences in the 420 as opposed to the FJ. If we are sailing at Navy with both 420's and FJs, we will do half and half that week so we get used to changing boats and changing techniques. Our weekly plan always highlights the venue we will be sailing in so if we go to a venue with big waves we will try to sail in the bay or if it will be really shifty we will tuck close into shore. Always in our weekly practice plan is to work on boathandling and starting, the two keys to success in any sailing.
What qualities and skill sets in sailors do you look for when recruiting?
I look for sailors who feel like they have more to learn and are excited about that. A young sailor who thinks they have it figured out is a real turnoff and probably not a good fit for a team I coach. I love to coach sailors who really want to learn and want to ask questions and be engaged in the process, rather then sailors who just focus on all results. I want hard workers. In my experience sailors that care too much about the result will not make the right rational decision on the race course but will rather make an emotional decision. I look for sailors, who above all else, like being on the water and enjoy sailing. The sport is more to them than the competition or the boat they are sailing in. It is pure fun!
What are some of the challenges high school/summer sailors need to consider while making the transition to college sailing?
I would ask all sailors coming into college sailing to learn to think outside the box. Sail lots of different boats with different crews and learn how to make a boat go fast. Try new things, learn from everyone and enjoy what you are doing. I love it when freshman come into the program with a resume which includes a shields regatta, offshore sailing, skiff sailing, the top C420 event etc...
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of being a varsity program? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of being a club?
The obvious advantage is the funding you can get from your athletic department. The other huge advantages are access to sports medicine, strength coaches, academic support and a professional culture.
What kind of offseason training regiment is expected from your sailors?
Our sailors are expected to always be working on their fitness, and we give them a program to help with that. Besides that, we encourage them to do some sailing but to also take some time off and enjoy doing other things. It is a fine balance because more time in a boat is most often a helpful thing if the sailor has the right mental mindset and is enjoying it.
"CleverPig Mentioned by Gary Jobson in the May 2010 Issue of Sailing World
Read more >>
"Youth Racing Takes Center Stage at 2010 US SAILING Events
If you are a young sailor in search of great competition, elite coaching instruction and a good time on the water, US SAILING has the right event for you. Another exciting season of youth racing is right around the corner at the many US SAILING coordinated regattas from two tremendously popular circuits. The USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival (JO) and the US SAILING 2010 National Championships series collectively organize a combined 30 regattas around the country for youth sailors from June through December 2010.
2010 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festivals
In its 14th season, this program is a nationwide series of regattas for youth, ages 8 to 21. There are 26 regattas slated for 2010 in the continental United States and Hawaii and over 4,500 sailors are expected to participate. The action begins with two events this June in Chicago and Merritt Island, Fla., and the series culminates with the 34th annual Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta on Dec. 27-30, the largest junior sailing event in the country. The Orange Bowl is hosted by the US Sailing Center, Coral Reef Yacht Club and Key Biscayne Yacht Club in Miami, Fla. Last year over 700 junior sailors from 17 countries, including six European nations, five South American countries, as well as 23 U.S. states and territories participated. The regatta includes four days of competition on Biscayne Bay.
This youth development program, sponsored by West Marine, Gill North America, Active.com and Hobie Performance Sunglasses, is a nationwide series of regattas hosted by yacht clubs and sailing organizations. They are designed to promote the enjoyment of sailing, develop the skills of young sailors, and to provide a pathway for hopeful Olympic competitors.
During the course of the 2010 JO season, young sailors will race Optimists, Lasers, Radials, Sunfish, El Toros, Club 420s, CFJs, 29ers, windsurfers, Hobie Cats and more in 26 events held in 16 states. Since the inception of the program in 1997, more than 43,000 sailors have participated in 258 events offering various levels of competition, skill building and fun activities designed to encourage a life-long involvement in the sport of sailing.
Additionally, US SAILING’s JO program has inspired hundreds of young sailors to reach for their Olympic dreams. The medal ceremony at the end of each JO event is similar to that of the Olympic Games format, as class winners step up to the podium to collect gold, silver, and bronze Junior Olympic medals. Special fun prizes and sportsmanship awards are presented at many JO events.
US SAILING’s 2010 National Championships
US SAILING has been coordinating championship regattas for junior sailors since 1921. These championships are hosted by local yacht clubs and sailing organizations around the country, and they offer a wide variety of opportunities to participate. Each championship is steeped in its own unique tradition. A long, distinguished line of the best sailors in the world sailed through the ranks of the Junior Championships. A pair of two-time US SAILING Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year recipients, Anna Tunnicliffe, 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist and US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics member, and BMW ORACLE Racing Team Tactician John Kostecki, both participated in US SAILING Youth National Championship events as young promising sailors.
During the 2010 season, young sailors will race Club 420s, Lasers, Laser Radials, Lightnings, and 29ers. These prestigious events provide junior sailors with an opportunity to test their skill at the national level. Each championship has three days of racing under the watchful eyes of coaches, which are provided by US SAILING. Sponsors include LaserPerformance, Gill North America, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, and Sperry Top-Sider. The summer schedule gets underway with the U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship from June 25-30 at the Hingham Yacht Club (Mass.). Racing will be conducted in Club 420s. Weeks later the U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship gets underway in Miami, Fla. on July 18 – 23 at the Coral Reef Yacht Club. This championship is raced in Laser Radials. US SAILING’s Junior National Coach Frank Ustach will be running sailing instruction clinics on-site prior to the start of racing at each of these events.
U.S. Youth Sailing Championship is the pinnacle of youth sailing competition in the United States. This year’s championship takes place Aug. 2-4 in San Pedro, Calif. at the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club. The country’s top single- and doublehanded youth sailors, both girls and boys, ranging from 13 to 18 years of age will race in four divisions, in the Club 420, Laser, Laser Radial, and 29er.
US SAILING’s Chubb U.S. Junior Championships is a nationwide elimination series that concludes the summer series in San Diego, Calif. on Aug. 16-19. The three boats for this year’s championship are the Club 420, Laser, and Lightning. This event is run by organizers from the San Diego Association of Yacht Clubs. This unique regatta is among the oldest of the US SAILING championships. Each team represents their home sailing organization. Semifinal eliminations are held within the 11 US SAILING Areas. Many of these elimination events are preceded by Chubb Clinics, designed to prepare sailors for racing at this level. The top teams from each Area semifinal will advance to compete for the Sears, Bemis or Smythe Trophies.
There are also opportunities for junior sailors to compete at the adult level. The U.S. Singlehanded Championships are open to male and female sailors 16 and older. Sailors qualify through eliminations, both at the Area level but also via specific regattas including the Interscholastic Singlehanded Championships and the ICSA / LaserPerformance Men’s and Women’s National Singlehanded Championships. Qualifying events for this prestigious championship run through June. Additionally, this year’s winners of the U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship, the U.S. Junior Singlehanded Championship, and the top Laser and female Radial sailor at the U.S. Youth Championship will also qualify for the 2011 U.S. Singlehanded Championships which will be held at the Columbia River Gorge near Portland, Ore.
Competition is just a part of the experience associated with this great series. US SAILING’s Gill College Sailing Seminars, provide a forum for young sailors to learn about opportunities in college sailing In conjunction with the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA), US SAILING will hold a seminar for young sailors competing at the U.S. Youth Sailing Championships and Chubb U.S. Junior Championships on Aug. 2 and August 15 respectively.
Visit US SAILING’s 2010 Junior Olympic Sailing Festival site for more information about the program or contact US SAILING Inshore Director, Lee Parks at 401-683-0800 or via e-mail at leeparks@ussailing.org.
For more information on US SAILING’s 2010 United States Championships please visit:
http://championships.ussailing.org/Youth.htm or contact US SAILING’s Championships Director, Liz Walker at 401-683-800 or via e-mail at lizwalker@ussaling.org.
"Kljakovic Gaspic successfully defends Finn European title on Home Waters
Not many sailors get the chance to sail a major championship in their home
town and even fewer get a chance to win one. But Sunday, for Ivan Kljakovic
Gaspic (CRO) that dream came true as he successfully defended his Finn
European Championship title in the medal race of the 2010 Finn Open Senior
and Junior European Championships in Split, Croatia. The Junior title went
to Ioannis Mitakis (GRE), also defending the title he won in 2009.
After a shifty and gusty medal race, Kljakovic Gaspic placed second to
retain his title, saying "This has been one of the toughest regattas of my
life." Third place for Ed Wright (GBR) secured him the silver medal while
fifth for Daniel Birgmark (SWE) left him with the bronze.
For the first time in the whole regatta, racing started on time, first time.
It was all about the shifts and they came through at frequent intervals with
large gusts mixed in. It was a fantastic test of sailing skill.
The two Croatians, Mate Arapov and Kljakovic Gaspic jumped out of the start
on the first few shifts and were not really ever challenged for the lead.
Race one winner, Arapov led throughout the race with Kljakovic Gaspic just
behind. The chasing pack was led mainly by Wright and Birgmark, while
regatta leader Rafa Trujillo (ESP) rounded the first mark last and with too
much to do.
Kljakovic Gaspic takes up the story, "Today was a really tough day and I
knew yesterday when I saw the weather forecast that it was going to be
really shifty and gusty as well because we had the racing area really close
to the hill."
"I knew I had to get a clear start because you need clear wind so you can
tack whenever you want and I got a perfect start, I think. I got the first
couple of shifts and gusts right and got clear on the upwind so I could
control the fleet in the rest of the race."
"On the first downwind I was super fast and I got a couple of really strong
gusts just at the mark rounding and I flew away from the pack. Then I was
totally clear to sail my own race. On the second beat I controlled the fleet
through the gusts and on the last downwind it was just about finishing the
race and not making any disasters like capsizing or crashing. I think I
performed really well today and I am proud of myself."
At times the Croatians had built a lead of close to 100 metres. Oscar flag
was raised for free pumping on the final leg and the fleet behind closed up
a bit with Kljakovic Gaspic almost catching Arapov at the finish.
In the end there were only eight finishers. Jonathan Lobert (FRA),
mistakenly assuming that Oscar flag for free pumping was up, picked up his
second yellow flag so had to retire while team mate Thomas Le Breton (FRA)
unfortunately fell ill overnight and was unable to sail.
Wright said of his race, "It was a very tricky race - as it's been all week.
The wind was off the land so we had very shifty and gusty conditions. I good
a pretty good start but I couldn't really tack because there were a lot of
boats on my hip. The Croatian, Mate, managed to tack and cross and he was
away for the race. On the first run they just got away really and we were
just trying to catch them the rest of the race."
"But considering where I was at the beginning of the week I am pretty happy
with second."
Third placed Birgmark said, "Today you had to cash in the whole time, taking
every shift as it arrived. I had a reasonably good start, but the left end
of the line paid off so I lost a bit there to the two Croatians, Mate and
Bambi, but then I managed to come up in the middle of the fleet. I had a
good chance for silver and Ed was very close to me. But I am very happy with
the bronze here though."
"It's been hard conditions this week, but even though we have only had six
races, they have been reasonably fair, and they have been good races. We
would have liked to have more races of course, but the ones we did were not
bad at all."
Just after the medal race the final race for the rest was completed with the
race win going to Florian Raudaschl (AUT) from Ioannis Mitakis (GRE) and
Michael Maier (CZE). This left Dan Slater (NZL) in 11th overall, having
missed he medal race by just one point.
In the Junior European Championship, Ioannis Mitakis had already retained
the title he won in 2009 with a race spare, and with a second place in the
final race he ended up an impressive 12th overall. The two Americans, Luke
Lawrence (USA) and Caleb Paine (USA) went into the final race in silver and
bronze positions. A 16th for Lawrence and a 54th for Paine left them in 30th
and 40th overall and well clear of fourth paced Josip Olujic (CRO) from the
host club.
Kljakovic Gaspic concluded, "Winning the event at home is I think impressive
because it's one thing to win a race somewhere else as there is always some
pressure, but it's just on you. But back home you have thousands of people
looking at you and everyone's interested in this. All my friends are
calling, sending texts and emails. Everyone means well but you feel big
pressure and it's not so easy. But I managed to stay cool with good
consistent sailing and not to many stupid mistakes and in the end I did
really well and am so proud I won another Europeans back home because this
was really big pressure event for me."
Final top 10 after medal race
(medal race position in brackets)
1 CRO 524 Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic 35 (2)
2 GBR 11 Edward Wright 35 (3)
3 SWE 11 Daniel Birgmark 41 (5)
4 ESP 100 Rafael Trujillo 41 (7)
5 CRO 25 Marin Misura 49 (4)
6 CRO 2 Mate Arapov 52 (1)
7 GBR 41 Giles Scott 54 (6)
8 FRA 112 Jonathan Lobert 54 (RTD)
9 NOR 1 Peer Moberg 57 (8)
10 FRA 115 Thomas Le Breton, 59 (DNC)
"American, John Kilroy, Finsihes Fourth at Melges 32 Europeans in Cagliari
Joe Woods on Red, with Paul Goodison on tactics wins the 2010 Audi Melges 32 European Championship.
On the final day, in mistral conditions that had no boundaries, Woods hit the fleet hard resisting fierce attacks from those, who at the end of the Championship accompanied him on the podium, Lanfranco Cirillo and tactician Michele Paoletti on Fantastica and Luca Lalli on B.LinSailing.com with Lorenzo Bressani on tactics.
The sixth race, presented by Yacht Club Cagliari, proved useful to those looking to close gaps in the standings such as American John Kilroy on Samba Pa Ti, which in final day’s conditions found himself in the lead at the first windward mark. Kilroy hesitated then hoisted the spinnaker, Cirillo was second around, hoisting the chute looking more relaxed than anyone else on the water. Downwind, Kilroy kept a close eye on Cirillo and Lalli looking for a comeback. Kilroy took the win, Cirillo across in second, Lalli third. With Cirillo’s result, he knew that he had at least a second overall finish for the championship. The title was yet to be determined though, as the arrival of Woods across the line was yet to come. In order to take the championship he had to score seventh or better.
Woods landed fifth and with this result, he collected the title. Congratulations are in full order for Woods and his successful crew with much merit to Goodison, the weapon aboard by which Red found its strength. Cirillo also had one of his best regattas yet, three second place finishes a fourth and a sixth. Lalli finished three points out in third. Peter Rogers on Highlife, who up until the final morning dreamed of success, slipped from second overall to fifth, passed by Kilroy in fourth.
Final overall standings Audi Melges 32 European Championship after 6 races with one discard:
Full Entry List (After 5 races)
1.) Joe Woods/Paul Goodison, Red; 1-6-1-[15]-1.5= 14
2.) Lanfranco Cirillo/Michele Paoletti, Fantastica; 4-2-6-2-[9]-2 = 16
3.) Luca Lalli/Lorenzo Bressani, BLinSailing.com; 3-5-3-3-[10] = 17
4.) John Kilroy/Stu Bannatyne, Samba Pa Ti; 8-[9]-4-1-5-1 = 19
5.) Peter Rogers/Ruaridh Scott, Highlife; 2-1-5-5-[10]-8 = 21
6.) Jean-Francois Cruette/Christian Ponthieu, Teasing Machine; 7-4-9-[12]-9.10 = 39
7.) Mauro Mocchegiani/Matteo Ivaldi, Rush Diletta; 13-[14]-13-8-4-4 = 42
8.) Filippo Pacinotti/Freddy Loof, Brontolo; 13-7-2-[16]-12.12 = 45
9.) Carlo Alberini/Gabriele Benussi, Calvi Network; [14]-3-11-11-14-6 = 46
10.) Ferdinando Battistella/Sandro Montefusco, Cuervo Y Sobrinos; [DSQ]-10-14-10-3-9 = 46
For full race reports and results visit: www.melges32.com
"Finn Europeans: Trujillo leads tight fleet into medal race
After two more late races at the Finn European Championship, the 2007 World
Champion Rafa Trujillo (ESP) goes into Sunday's medal race with a two point
margin over the 2006 European Champion Ed Wright (GBR). Daniel Birgmark
(SWE) who was leading going into Saturday, ended the day in third.
Mathematically nine boats can win after the medal race, but realistically it
will be one of the top five or six, though all nine have a good chance of
taking a medal, with just 15 points separating them.
Saturday started with thunderstorms, heavy wind and rain and a two hour
postponement. Race five was important to get in as five races were needed to
be able to hold a medal race.
Starting at the third attempt in 10 knots, the left side proved to be the
best with a 15 degree shift coming through about half way up. The 2009
Junior European Champion Ioannis Mitakis (GRE) made the best of the shift to
round the top mark ahead of Peer Moberg (NOR), Trujillo, Ed Wright (GBR),
Marko Kolic (ITA) and Dan Slater (NZL).
Moberg said, "It was really exciting. I had a good start and the wind turned
a bit to the left. I was in the middle left and come up to second and fought
with the Greek guy [Mitakis] all the way to round the top mark second."
"I was playing the shifts in the middle and suddenly I got the left shift
and just kept on going. Some guys overstood the mark, so I just tacked under
them"
Mitakis said, "In the first race I went left and rounded first. I am a bit
slow downwind and Moberg passed me easily and then I got past him upwind and
he did the same downwind." Moberg went on to take the win followed by
Mitakis, Slater and Wright.
The second race looked doubtful for a while as the wind dropped and several
starts failed. Finally the fleet got away at 17.40. Wright and Ivan
Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) went hard right while others played the shifts on the
left. A late left shift cost Wright and Kljakovic Gaspic a lot of ground and
the top group rounded close together with Kljakovic Gaspic leading Mitakis,
Caleb Paine (USA), Wright, Tapio Nirkko (FIN) and Jonathan Lobert (FRA).
By the leeward gate, Andrew Mills (GBR) had taken the lead. He said, "I
started in the middle of the line, went left, which looked good for a bit
then everyone came in from the right. I rounded about 20th and had a nice
run. I went down the left and had more pressure and rounded the bottom in
first. I chose the other gate to Ivan and had good numbers out to the left
so kept going."
This time the left paid. "I went quite a long a long way and then tacked and
the wind picked up and I crossed ahead. I am quite fast in that stuff. And
the last run was quite good fun. I enjoyed it a lot, especially with that
much of a lead. Ivan was going quite quick, but it was too much of a gap for
him to catch up."
Oscar flag for free pumping was raised for the last downwind as a rainstorm
came through and the sailors enjoyed being able to stretch out and sail
hard. During the day storms had been passing on all sides of the course, but
until then the fleet had escaped.
Moberg didn't fair so well in the second race. He is using one of the new
North NZ Dacron sails, developed by Slater. "I thought it would be windy so
I changed sailed between races to my strong wind sail and it's a little flat
and it was too choppy. But I am testing equipment right now so that's OK.
The new Dacron sail is very good. I think it will last for a long time, so
the costs for sailors will come down."
He is very happy to make the top 10, "For me top 10 is everything so I can
get some funding for next year."
Mitakis has retained his Junior European title with a race to spare. "I am
happy to win the Juniors again and I am looking forward to the Silver Cup
[World Juniors] in San Francisco." Sunday's final race will decide silver
and bronze positions. Currently Luke Lawrence (USA) sits in 32nd place, 14
points ahead of Caleb Paine (USA).
Trujillo leads the fleet into the medal race. "I am really happy I make it
to fifth. I was third, but was being careful downwind as I already had a
yellow flag. The second race was really bad. I rounded 27th, but chose the
right options and rounded the bottom mark 14th. I chose the right side,
played the pressure to finish fifth again. I am really happy to still be in
with a chance of the podium tomorrow."
He summed up, "It will be tight, like it always is in the Finn class."
Wright wouldn't say much but had clearly enjoyed the wind. "It's about time
we had some decent conditions."
Final showdown
The medal race for the top ten and the final race for the rest is scheduled
for 12.00 Sunday. It is going to be some fight to take the 2010 European
Senior title and all the sailors are more than up for it. It is wide open
and is going to be fascinating to watch.
Top 10 after six races
1 ESP 100 Rafael Trujillo 27
2 GBR 11 Edward Wright 29
3 SWE 11 Daniel Birgmark 31
4 CRO 524 Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic 31
5 FRA 112 Jonathan Lobert 32
6 FRA 115 Thomas Le Breton 39
7 NOR 1 Peer Moberg 41
8 CRO 25 Marin Misura 41
9 GBR 41 Giles Scott, 42
10 CRO 2 Mate Arapov 50
"Team Tunnicliffe: 2nd Overall At The NYYC Women's Match Race Clinic And Regatta
It was a great day for sailing again despite the overcast skies. We ended up finishing second overall to Sally Barkow after losing 3-1 in the finals. Sally sailed a very good series and definitely deserved to win today. Placing third, after winning the petit-finals, was Genny Tulloch.
Our morning started with one more race in the semi finals against Katy Lovell. After starting the series yesterday 2-0, we wrapped up the race today after she started early. We led from there, all around the course.
After our race, we sat around waiting for the other semi-final match up to finish. Sally ended up beating Genny 3-1 in the series to advance to the finals. With the current getting stronger and the wind dying a bit, we did a warm up during their race so we would be ready for the match up when they finished.
The racing was tight between us except for the last race. In the first race, we rounded inside at the top mark, but she had position to roll right over us and led us around the bottom mark. She then got the right of the course on the next up wind and held on to the lead. In the second race, we rounded right behind her, and passed her downwind. She passed us again upwind but then we had a tight battle downwind where she got two penalties. In the third race, we led off the line, but made a mistake upwind and gave her the lead. Despite staying close for the rest of the race, we couldn't catch them. In the final race of the series, we started to the left of them and were in less pressure from the get-go. We couldn't close the lead and she went on to win the race and the series 3-1.
We learned a lot and are happy with our result. We would have liked to win, but today wasn't our day. We are looking forward to two weeks off before our next event on June 1 in Annapolis, MD, giving us time to decompress, debrief the past three regattas and regroup. We had a good series of events finishing with two second places and a first place.
We would like to thank Carmuese and Trinity Yachts for their continued support of our campaign for the 2012 Olympics in London. We would also like the thank USSTAG for their support.
Sail Hard,
Anna
Team Tunnicliffe
http://www.annatunnicliffe.com
"Team Tunnicliffe: Cold First Day In Newport, RI at NYYC Women's Match Race Regatta
It was a cold and rainy start to the first day of racing at the New York YC Women's Match Race Clinic and Regatta. Despite the weather, we had a great day on the water and finished the day 7-1. Handing us our loss for the day, and tight on our transom with results, are our USSTAG teammates, Genny Tulloch and team at 6-2.
We completed a full round robin and the first race of the second round. We had challenging conditions, with a shifty wind that was slowly swinging left all day. On top of that, we had current flowing one way to start the day and then it switched half way through as the tide changed. However, in spite of these conditions, the team did a great job of positioning us in the best places to take advantage of the shifts. We had some great pre-starts, and some close races. We learned some good lessons, and are looking forward to racing tomorrow.
We came immediately from Calpe, Spain to Newport on Sunday and started the clinic part of this event at 8am the next morning. Our flights back from Spain to the USA were again affected by the volcano. Each of our flights were delayed from 2-4 hours. We were re-routed so that instead of flying the usual 8 hour route across the Atlantic, we had to fly north through France and England, and then further north to go around the volcano. As a result, we missed our connections when we landed in the USA and it all made for a very long day. However, we were happy that we made it as there had been a rumor going around the airport that our flight was cancelled.
We have had two days of clinic which were of great assistance in getting us used to the boats again and for practicing specific parts of a race on which we wanted to work. We had great coaches, both Dave Perry, Dave Dellenbaugh, and Henry Menin, along with Tony Rey and Colin Gordon. They all taught us a great deal, and at the same time we were learning important information about this venue; the venue of this year's Women's Match Racing World Championships.
Tomorrow, the plan is to finish the second round robin and start the semi-finals. Unfortunately there are no results posted on the regatta website.
We would like to thank our sponsors Carmeuse and Trinity Yachts for their continued support of our campaign for the 2012 Olympics in London. We would also like to thank USSTAG for their continued support.
Sail Hard,
Anna
Team Tunnicliffe
http://www.annatunnicliffe.com
"ISAF World Sailing Rankings - 12 May 2010
The ISAF World Sailing Rankings for 12 May have been released.
Visit the ISAF World Sailing Rankings homepage at www.sailing.org/rankings to view the full Ranking lists.
The next issue of the rankings will be released on 2 June up to and including the Delta Lloyd Regatta (formerly Holland Regatta) in the Netherlands.
World Ranking Leaders - 12 May 2010
Men's One Person Dinghy (Heavyweight) - Finn
Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO)
Women's One Person Dinghy - Laser Radial
Marit Bouwmeester (NED)
Men's One Person Dinghy - Laser
Paul Goodison (GBR)
Men's Two Person Dinghy - 470
Sven Coster and Kalle Coster (NED)
Women's Two Person Dinghy - 470
Ingrid Petitjean and Nadège Douroux (FRA)
Men's Two Person Dinghy (high performance) - 49er
Emmanuel Dyen and Stéphane Christidis (FRA)
Men's Keelboat - Star
Flavio Marazzi and Enrico De Maria (SUI)
Men's Windsurfer - RS:X
Julien Bontemps (FRA)
Women's Windsurfer - RS:X
Marina Alabau (ESP)
Visit the ISAF World Sailing Rankings homepage at www.sailing.org/rankings for more on the latest Ranking release and dates for all 2010 Ranking releases.
Events Included
The full ISAF World Sailing Ranking lists, results from all ISAF Graded events, lists of Graded events throughout the year, Ranking release dates and the method of calculation for the Rankings can be found on the ISAF website at www.sailing.org/rankings.
ISAF World Sailing Rankings - www.sailing.org/rankings
"Long day afloat for just one race at Finn Europeans
Despite attempts to get the racing back on track, the Finn Open Senior and
Junior Europeans Championships was again saddled with uncooperative and
unusual weather conditions with the wind playing games with the race officer
and the sailors all day. More than 10 starts were attempted, two races were
abandoned, and one race stood, with the win going to Finn newcomer Mate
Arapov (CRO) from Split.
In the first start in 12-15 knots, Rafa Trujillo (ESP) led from the middle
right on the first upwind to build a commanding lead downwind. Then the wind
shifted 130 degrees and switched off.
More than an hour later another start was attempted in a very shifty and
patchy northerly breeze. There was a big left shift half way up with Arapov
rounding the top mark ahead of Bjorn Allansson (SWE), Trujillo, Deniss
Karpak (EST), Peer Moberg (NOR) and Vasiliy Zbogar (SLO).
Arapov said, "The first race was very nice for me. I got a good start right
on the pin and I made a good decision on the middle half of the first
upwind. The left side was good and I rounded the first mark in the lead. On
the first downwind I didn't lose my advantage and I chose the right gate
which gained me 50 metres and then during the second upwind I was just
covered the fleet."
"The last downwind was difficult. The wind was stopping and everyone caught
me up from behind. But I chose the right side downwind where there more more
breeze. Rafa put me under pressure at the end of the second upwind but he
went on the left side downwind and lost out a bit."
Arapov was followed over the finish line by Moberg, Karpak, Allansson and
Zbogar. Ed Wright (GBR) had moved up to third, but a yellow flag in the
final 100 metres dropped him to 10th.
Arapov is new to the Finn. "I sailed Split Olympic Week this year and was
second, and have maybe sailed 20 times since." He sailed in the Sydney and
Athens Olympics in the Laser and is now beginning a Star campaign for
London, but said, "The Finn is nice. I am now 92 kg so it's good for me. I
have bought a boat, but we will see."
After another hour wait for the wind to stabilise, race two got away at the
third attempt but the massive pressure variation on the first beat was a
hint of things to come, and it was finally abandoned at the end of the first
downwind while Rafal Szukiel (POL) and Ivan Kjlakovic Gaspic (CRO) were well
ahead of the chasing pack.
Trujillo said, "It was a very difficult day for the race committee and the
sailors. We went out with a nice Sirocco, the typical wind from the east,
and the day looks easy. Perfect Finn conditions. And then the wind died. In
the second race there were really difficult conditions, shifty and big
pressure difference. I was happy with seventh place, even though I was
second for most of the race. Any top ten place here is good."
"In the last race I know the race committee needed to push to get the race
in while there was wind, but it was turning into a 'carnival' race. Full
credit to the race officer though he tried to make a good race, but in the
end he had to cancel. That's the game."
"In the end it is not important how many races we have, what is important is
getting in good races. This is the second most important regatta of the year
for us."
Was he happy with his speed. "I don't know. With 20 degree shifts, if you
take the right shift you look fast, if you take the wrong shift you look
slow. In the last race I was super slow! Trujillo is one of those counting
his good fortune. Many favourites were buried mid fleet or worse after the
first upwind.
"Finn Europeans: Situation normal - covers stay on
It was situation normal at the Finn European Championship in Split,
Croatia. For the fourth time in a row at a major Finn event this year,
the first day has been lost with the fleet held on shore.
Once again the sailors whiled away the day sat on shore watching the
weather, and finding ways to entertain themselves as the rain pattered
down and later observing the stillness of the Adriatic as the ships
arrived and departed. When the rain finally stopped the wind filled
in, but within 30 minutes it had all but gone. Predictions were
plentiful, but the result was always going to be the same. One day
down, no races counted.
The 2010 Finn Europeans had attracted the largest ever entry. After
measurement and registration was completed, 97 entries were recorded
from 26 nations including 25 juniors, accounting for roughly a quarter
of the fleet.
An encouraging number of sailors are new to the fleet with lots of new
juniors here for the first time, some only 16 years old but already
towering over many 25 year old sailors. In fact the average age of
sailors here is just 28, with 40 per cent of the fleet under the age
of 23.
Three races are scheduled for Wednesday starting an hour earlier at
11.00. Everyone is hoping the weather will be kinder tomorrow.
"Kiel Gears Up To Welcome Over 5000 Sailors
More than 5000 sailors from over 50 nations are expected to be racing at the 128th edition of Kieler Woche from 19 - 27 June.
During the ten days of the regatta about 400 starts will take place by 2000 boats on ten race courses.
From 19 - 23 June the sixth regatta of the ISAF Sailing World Cup includes all classes of the Olympic Sailing Competition and the Paralympic class 2.4R. Additionally another 15 International classes will be racing from 24 - 27 June.
Here in Kiel on their home waters, the German sailors want to show that they are part of the international high-class competition and gain valuable ranking points towards the ISAF Sailing World Cup.
49er sailors, Lennart Briesenick-Pudenz and Morten Massmann and RS:X surfer Moana Delle will be defending their titles. Both were the German Kieler Woche gold medallists in 2009.
‘It was an overwhelming feeling to win in Kiel. It was our first World Cup victory and that in our home waters. We will never forget the medal race which had the best conditions for sailors and the audience alike,’ Lennart Briesenick-Pudenz remembers looking back emotionally.
“Sure it was a great feeling, It is always lovely to win a regatta and if it happens at home it is even better,” remembers Moana Delle. One of her biggest competitors will be Sydney silver medallist Amelie Lux who is planning her comeback for 2012.
Sailing and even more sailing
“In order to let the classes sail as much as possible we abstained from any limitations concerning the maximum amount of races per day and series,’” said Jobst Richter, Chairman of the Kieler Woche races..
Kiel has sufficient space available on the water. With ten racing areas each class will be allocated its own area so that consequently the number of races will only be determined by wind and weather conditions.
Welcome Race 2010
Many offshore sailors have been waiting for it and a very happy Eckhard von der Mosel, Chairman of Kieler Woche Offshore Committee announced the positive outcome of the negotiations: After four years of abstinence the first offshore race of Kieler Woche 2010 will again be from Kiel to Eckernförde and back.
"The many spinnakers on the Kiel Fjord as well as the crowded harbour of Eckernförde - these are the pictures that the world associates with the beginning of Kieler Woche," said the offshore chairman passionately.
New Offshore Concept
Besides the long-distance offshore events, Kieler Woche will also offer a completely new concept for One-Design yachts. Especially smaller boats such as Melges 24, J-80 and Laser SB3 prefer short ways to the race area with many fast races rather than long or mid-distance races starting on the Inner Fjord. This race area on the Outer Fjord will be available during the ISAF Sailing World Cup part of the regatta (19-24 June) for offshore One-Design yachts which also include the X-99, X-79, Streamline and Albin Express. At the same time the X-99 class has chosen the new concept to compete for North European Championship, as did Streamline with its German Cup.
________________________________________
Regatta Dates Kieler Woche 2010
19 - 23 June ISAF Sailing World Cup
(Men and Women’s 470, 49er, 2.4mR open, Women’s Matchrace/Elliott 6m, Finn, Laser, Women’s Laser Radial, Men and Women’s RS:X and Star)
24 - 27 June: International Classes
(29er, 420, 505, Contender, Dragon, Europe, Flying Dutchman, Folkeboat, Formula 18, H-Boat, Hobie 16, J 24, Kielzugvogel, OK-Dinghy, Platu 25)
Offshore
19 - 20 June: Welcome Race from Kiel to Eckernförde and back (ORCi, ORC-Club)
19 - 23 June: Kiel-Cup Foxtrott (Albin Express, CB 66, J-80, Laser SB3, Melges 24, Streamline, X-79, X-99)
21 - 23 June Kiel-Cup Alpha (ORCi) / German Open (Inshore)
23 June: Kaiserpokal (final race of all Kiel-Cup groups)
24 - 25 June: Silbernes Band, long-distance (ORCi, ORC-Club)
26 June: Senatspreis, short-distance (ORCi, ORC-Club)
For further information visit www.kieler-woche.de
For the latest news, photos and videos, as well as Standings, event details and more, visit the ISAF Sailing World Cup website at www.sailing.org/worldcup.
"Bryan Boyd interview
Bryan Boyd of Annapolis recently announced a full time Finn campaign for London 2012. In doing so he is going head to head against the 2008 Olympic Silver medalist Zach Railey of Clearwater, Florida.
Boyd treated 2009 as a 'test year' before deciding to commit to a further two or three years hard graft in the Finn. After placing fourth in the 2004 trials, winning the pre-trials in 2006 and then placing fourth again in the 2008 trials (held in 2007), what made him decide to do it all again at the age of 34?
“This has been building up in me for years. In 2004, I got a good first hand look at what it takes on and off the water to succeed. Kevin Hall basically made mincemeat of the rest of the US sailors with a talented, funded, and professional program. I knew then that it would be difficult to move forward without all three of those components, and I only had talent going for me at the time. For the 2008 quad I was a glorified weekend warrior.”
“I was working hard to grow my construction business at home, and Finn sailing was just for fun. Enter the 2012 quad, and suddenly the US Sailing Team Alphagraphics has built a program to provide the funding and the professionalism. I think knowing and believing that the USSTAG would support me in bringing my absolute best effort to the game was the key component that lured me back into Olympic Finn sailing.”
Raising his game
Is Boyd distracted by going up against a national hero? “Zach and I have an excellent training relationship. Part of that comes from the coaches coming to all of the sailors early in the quad and selling the benefits of the team culture. Another part is a byproduct of our shared pragmatism about the whole thing. I firmly believe that the best way to prepare for our Trials selection is to prepare myself for winning a medal against the best sailors in the world, not to focus on how I can beat Zach in a regatta. 2008 was 2008. There is no other class that pushes forward as hard as the Finn in raising the game.”
Clearly the change in focus for the US Sailing Team has been instrumental in enabling Boyd – and many others – to take on the challenge of an Olympic campaign, as well as the added benefit of corporate sponsorship. “The US Sailing Team Alphagraphics is my primary sponsor. They've developed great sponsor relationships with a number of great companies who believe in the direction the team is headed and have put their money where it counts. The whole team of athletes works together now, and you can feel it palpably when you get close to the team. I think our sponsors are excited to be a part of the team, and they can quite rightly feel a part of the medals we are going to win in 2012.”
European tour
Boyd has just embarked on a 10 week trip to Europe. After training in Valencia with the likes of 2004 Olympic silver medalist Rafa Trujillo, he takes in three World Cup events and the European Championship in Croatia as well as training at the 2012 Olympic venue in Weymouth, before heading back to the States for the Finn Gold Cup (World Championship) in San Francisco in August.
With Boyd back in the race, the USA is currently in the fortunate position of having two top Finn sailors capable of winning races - and maybe regattas - a state of affairs not seen since the 1980s.
“I love being a part of the Olympic Movement. I think a lot of people assume that the Olympics is just about one competition every four years, but a closer look shows that it’s really much more. Being in this world is about the hours and hard work spent finding all the best parts of yourself through sport and expressing them in that one moment which is the Olympics. Doing so while gaining the friendship of other athletes from all over the world is the greatest takeaway of this whole experience. A medal in London is just going to be the icing.” However, there is always a downside to this type of commitment, “All the time away from my wife is really tough.”
Hyeres
Hyeres, in the south of France, is famed for its cold, strong winds, but so far this week the sailors have seen none of that. Hot weather combined with light or non-existent winds has played havoc with the schedule. After three days only two races were scored, though the series has nearly caught up with eight races sailed.
After winning the opening race, Railey then picked up a black flag before recovering with a string of late top ten/early teen results to go into Friday's medal race in ninth place, though he now has no chance of a medal. Boyd was more consistent early on but picked up an OCS in race five to drop out of the top 10. He finally ended up in 15th place, so misses the medal race, but can be heartened with a series of top 10 places and was also leading one of the abandoned races.
There will be success along the way and there will be setbacks – for both of them – but Boyd is upbeat about the experience that lies ahead. “I've committed fully to the Finn and to winning a medal at the Games in 2012. I've put my business into hibernation, so there will be no distractions. It's going to be an intense two years ahead of me, but I am ready and excited. It's always stressful getting organized, and I'm looking forward to getting into my routine of training and sailing. Hitting the ground running, and I can't wait. ”
Both sailors have won races at World Championship level and with Railey winning the medal race at the Trofea Princesa Sofia in Palma a few weeks back, and Boyd winning the medal race at the Rolex Miami OCR back in January, they are clearly on top of their game, and all set for an epic battle to see who will represent the USA in Weymouth in just over two years time.
You can follow Bryan at www.bryansail.com and Zach at www.zach2012.com
"Plans For 34th Americas Cup Announced
The oldest trophy in international sport: re-energised by unprecedented collaboration between the Defender and the Challengers.
• New, fair rules and independent professional management will give an equal opportunity to all teams
• A new class of fast, exciting boats created in conjunction with all teams
• The 159 year old competition made irresistible to commercial partners with regular racing in multiple venues under professional, neutral race management
• Transformed television and online coverage will place race fans right at the heart of the action, wherever they are in the world
This was the message today at the first press conference of the 34th America’s Cup, which saw the trophy brought to the home city of the Challenger of Record, the Club Nautico di Roma.
Speaking in the Sala Exedra in Rome’s Musei Capitolini, surrounded by some of Rome’s most precious treasures, Russell Coutts r(NZL) epresenting the defending Golden Gate Yacht Club and Vincenzo Onorato ITA) on behalf of the Challenger of Record, mapped out the future of the America’s Cup.
The press conference webcast was streamed live around the world.
Discussion & debate; consultation & collaboration
“Diktat has been replaced by discussion, confrontation by consultation,” said Coutts, four time winner of the iconic competition. “Our minds and our ears are open. We are receptive to ideas.”
The opportunity to shape the rules and the design of the new boat has been offered to potential teams.
The management of the on-the-water racing will be controlled by an independent, neutral and professional authority, not the Defender.
New Protocol rules
Yesterday teams received the Protocol used in the 32nd America’s Cup and were asked: “What would you change to make the competition better?”
This document was negotiated by the Golden Gate Yacht Club and produced the successful 2007 America’s Cup. Feedback from the teams will be used to shape a new Protocol for the 34th Match.
The wide-ranging reforms would not have been possible without close co-operation with the other teams – who will be the Defender’s rivals when racing gets underway. In particular Coutts noted the unprecedented collaboration between the Challenger of Record and Defender: “The task would have been impossible without working in partnership with Vincenzo Onorato.”
Onorato was given the honour of revealing the key decision date targets on behalf of the entire America’s Cup community.
Key dates announced
• Protocol for the 34th America’s Cup will be issued by 31st August
• Design rule released by 30th September
• Notice of Race & Sailing Instructions published by 31st December
• Venue confirmed by 31st December
• Challenge Period open from 1st October – 31st January 2011
New thinking on television
A bow-to-stern re-think of the entire television and media output is already underway.
Not only will fans be able to turn-on and tune-in, anytime, on any platform, but they will be made to feel as if they are on-board themselves, right at the heart of the action, alongside the best sailors in the world.
New boat - faster sailing & thrilling racing
The new design rule will be a critical element of building a spectacular event. Renowned but neutral designers - Bruce Nelson and Peter Melvin - have created two different concepts – a multihull and a monohull.
Teams will sit down this month and discuss which concept to adopt and begin the process to create a design rule.
The requirements of the new America’s Cup Class rule are:
• It should produce dynamic and close racing
• It should use advanced, efficient and cost-effective technologies
• It should be distinctive and epitomize the pinnacle of the sport
• It should be able to race in any venue in winds from 5-35 knots
The ability to race in all venues and in most wind strengths is vital to make race scheduling reliable for fans and broadcasters.
“Delays kill interest. Even the hard-core fan doesn’t like having to wait for enough wind to race,” said Coutts.
Venue and Year - host cities evaluated
2013 and 2014 were named as the most likely dates for the next Cup.
Sufficient time is needed to evaluate venues and create impressive, efficient infrastructure for the Cup Village.
Coutts confirmed that American sites were not the only ones under consideration. But he noted: “Every candidate city knows that a very strong case has already been put forward by San Francisco.”
Cities in the USA and Europe are under consideration.
Highly experienced specialists have been engaged to manage the evaluation process.
Regular racing in multiple locations
Host cities are also being sought for a series of regular racing for Cup teams. This racing will be integrated into the America’s Cup, in a plan developed in conjunction with the World Sailing Teams Association.
Changes welcomed by Cup community
Paul Cayard,(USA) six-time America’s Cup competitor and representing not just Sweden’s Team Artemis but the World Sailing Teams Association, commented on the reform package:
“We believe that the WSTA and its Louis Vuitton Trophy events are exactly the type of activity that needs to be incorporated into the big picture of the America’s Cup. “With its global venues in important markets, regular calendar of events, tight racing in America’s Cup class boats, equal representation for each team, these events represent great commercial value that the teams can pass along to their sponsors.”
Challenger trials for the challengers & litigation ended
Coutts confirmed that the Defender will not participate in the Challenger trials as the previous Defender had done. And that all litigation from the contentious 33rd America’s Cup was over because of a settlement signed last month with the Swiss.
“That episode is history. Our focus is the future,” Coutts said.
"Record Entry For Finn Europeans In Split
Split in Croatia could be regarded as one of the Finn classes' favourite venues. In recent times, this picturesque Adriatic port has staged the Europeans in 1997, the World Masters in 2002 and the Finn Gold Cup in 2006
In 2010 the city will host two major Finn events. At the end of May the World Masters will return again, and next week the YC Labud will host the 2010 Finn Open Junior and Senior European Championships.
An all-time record entry of 101 sailors from 27 nations will be competing, including three former European Champions. The defending champion is Ivan Ivan Kljakovic gaspic (CRO), though with all but one of the top 25 world ranked sailors attending it will be a tough call for him to take the title for a second year.
His main home competition comes from local sailor Marin Misura (CRO), who with wins at the Split Olympic Week and in Hyeres last week, is bound to be brimming with confidence.
Arguably the other main favourite has to be Ed Wright (GBR). With wins at the Rolex Miami OCR and the Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mapfre this year, Wright is producing better results than anyone else in the fleet and baring a major mishap should be in with a chance come the medal race on Sunday week.
In fact, any of the impressively strong Skandia Team GBR could be in the medal race. Giles Scott (GBR), second in Miami, Andrew Mills (GBR) and Mark Andrews (GBR) have all won races at ISAF Grade 1 events this year and skipped Hyeres to prolong their training in Split to prepare for this event.
Other favourites to look for include: Rafa Trujillo (ESP), 2004 Olympic silver medalist and 2007 World Champion; Pieter Jan Pieter-Jan Postma (NED); Gasper Vincec (SLO), third in Miami this year; Dan Slater (NZL), runner up, 2008 Finn Gold Cup; Rafal Szukiel (POL); Jonathan Lobert (FRA); and Thomas Le Breton (FRA).
Both Lobert and Le Breton have been training hard together and the results are starting to pay off. Lobert won races in both Miami and Hyeres, while Le Breton took the bronze at Hyeres last week.
This event also brings the return of Karlo Kuret (CRO), a four time Olympian in the Finn and part of the event organisation, though he has not raced a major Finn regatta since the 2004 Olympics.
Other race winning potential comes from: Eduard Eduard Skornyakov (RUS), 2007 European Champion; Deniss Karpak(EST), his second season and improving all the time; Tapio Nirkko (FIN), runner up at the Europeans last year; Giorgio Giorgio Poggi (ITA); Peer Moberg (NOR); and Bryan Boyd (USA). In addition there are lots of new faces and talented sailors joining the class, so there could well be a few surprises along the way as well.
In the very strong Junior fleet, the defending champion is Ioannis Mitakis (GRE). He is also probably the favourite to take a second title after an outstanding performance in Hyeres where he placed in the top 10 for most of the week.
Measurement and registration opens Friday with the practice race on Monday 10th May. Ten races are scheduled between Tuesday and Saturday with the medal race for the top 10 and the final fleet race for the rest on Sunday 16th May.
You can follow the event on the Finn class event blog, Facebook page, Twitter and YouTube site as well as through the regular press releases.
Class blog: http://finnclass.blogspot.com/
Class Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Finn-Class/110408332633
Class video site: www.youtube.com/thefinnchannel
Class Twitter page: http://twitter.com/Finn_Class
Class website: www.finnclass.org
Event website: http://jklabud.hr/finn-europeans-2010
Club website: www.jklabud.hr/
Pre-entries (101 sailors from 27 nations)
AUT 3 Florian Raudaschl
AUT 7 Michael Gubi
BUL 24 Kopanov Mihail
BUL 855 Vangelov Dimitar
CRO 1 Arapov Mate
CRO 52 Bari? Nikola
CRO 524 Kljakovic Gaspic Ivan
CRO 7 Kuret Karlo
CRO 25 Misura Marin
CRO 88 Mrduljas Marin
CYP 19 Papadopoulos Haris
CZE 1 Deutscher Patrik
CZE 81 Hrncal Tomas
CZE 9 Hrubý Michal
CZE 3 Lidarik Rudolf
CZE 1 Maier Michael
CZE 52 Vika Tomas
DEN 46 Andresen Kaspar
ESP 836 Muscat Alejandro
ESP 100 Trujillo Rafael
EST 2 Karpak Deniss
EST 7 Liiv Harles
EST 11 Väinalu Lauri
FIN 218 Nirkko Tapio
FRA 112 Jonathan Lobert
FRA 99 Marc Allain Des Beauvais
FRA 115 Thomas Le Breton
GBR 11 Wright Edward
GBR 88 Andrews Mark
GBR 65 David Potter
GBR 68 Mackie John
GBR 85 Mills Andrew
GBR 41 Scott Giles
GER 711 Andre Budzien
GER 712 Christoph Froh
GER 165 Dirk Meid
GER 500 Fischer Philipe
GER 771 Jan Kurfeld
GER 127 Julian Massler
GER 64 Luttkus Lennart
GER 27 Matthias Wolff
GER 108 Sebastian Munck
GER 772 Ulli Kurfeld
GRE 30 Barous Nikolaos
GRE 8 Dragoutsis Alexandros
GRE 71 Davourlis Panagiotis
GRE 9 Gnafakis Konstantinos
GRE 2 Gnafakis Eirinaios
GRE 14 Katsimidis Anastsios
GRE 4 Kotsovos Panagiotis
GRE 77 Mitakis Ioannis
GRE 21 Tsotras Antonis
HUN 8 Beliczay Márton
HUN 728 Haidekker Elemer
HUN 212 Hirschler Richard
HUN 270 Huszár Géza
HUN 972 Mónus Gyula
HUN 6 Pál Gaszton
ITA 123 Baldassari Filippo
ITA 101 Cordovani Riccardo
ITA 40 Kolic Marko
ITA 985 Laici Federico
ITA 117 Poggi Giorgio
ITA 981 Voltolini Enrico
NED 842 Postma Pieter-Jan
NED 83 Timo Hagoort
NED 844 Van Der Heijden Gert
NOR 1 Moberg Peer
NZL 1 Slater Dan
POL 17 Kula Piotr
POL 1 Mal?g Maciej
POL 12 Milosz Wojewski
POL 45 Pasik Jakub
POL 7 Szukiel Rafa?
POR 5 Melo Frederico
POR 310 Rodrigo Quina
RUS 7 Alexander Novikov
RUS 41 Denikaev Felix
RUS 3 Izmestyev Ivan
RUS 17 Kravchenko Vasiliy
RUS 707 Larionov Egor
RUS 1 Selivanov Alexey
RUS 91 Sivenkov Viacheslav
RUS 9 Skornyakov Eduard
RUS 57 Terpigorev Egor
RUS 95 Udartsev Vladimir
SLO 5 Vin?ec Gašper
SLO 573 ?bogar Vasilij
SUI 63 Thomas Gautschi
SWE 11 Birgmark Daniel
SWE 6 Bjorn Allansson
SWE 721 Brandt Mikael
SWE 111 Jarnstam Torsten
SWE 33 Salminen Max
TUR 21 Kaynar Alican
TUR 35 Kuyumcu Efe
TUR 7 Muslubas Akif
UKR 1 Borysov Oleksiy
UKR 55 Chystiakov Pavlo
UKR 5 Gusenko Andriy
UKR 5 Gusenko Andriy
UKR 21 Sadchykov Anton
USA 1140 Boyd Bryan
USA 40 Luke Lawrence
USA 619 Paine Caleb
USA 60 Woolward Iain
"CleverPig Interview with Kaity Storck & Lyndsey Gibbons-Neff
Skipper, Kaity Storck: 23 years old from Huntington, NY. She grew up sailing at Centerport Yacht Club.
Crew, Lyndsey Gibbons-Neff: 24 years old from Rosemont, PA. She is a member of Corinthian Yacht Club of Philadelphia and grew up sailing in Annapolis at Severn Sailing Association.
How did you get started in sailing?
Kaity Storck: We started sailing together when we were freshmen at Tufts University and our coach, Ken Legler, paired us together from the first day. We did not know each other before this but we had sailed against each other in a few junior sailing 420 events. We continued to sail together throughout our four years of college sailing in all types of events, women’s, co-ed and team racing.
Lyndsey Gibbons-Neff: We met as freshmen at Tufts in 2004, where our coach assigned us together our freshman year. We shared the same work ethic and goals in sailing and continued to sail together for all four years of college.
How did you decide to start campaigning together?
Kaity Storck: I have wanted to sail a 470 and do an Olympic campaign for a long time. I did not start during college because I felt that I would not be able to get very far in the 470 while trying to balance school and college sailing and I would probably not do as well in those things either. I know that if I have too much on my plate I will not succeed at any of them. After I graduated I worked for a year to save up enough money to buy a good 470 and start this campaign. When thinking about with whom I was going to sail, I realized that personality was probably the most important aspect for me, especially enthusiasm and a hard work ethic. I already knew I could work well with Lyndsey since I have sailed with her for so long. Additionally, I know that she has an extremely hard work ethic that she uses to get very good at whatever she puts her mind to. In the end, I think I just have a lot of fun sailing with her and I knew that I would only be able to do this if I am sailing with someone that makes it fun.
Lyndsey Gibbons-Neff: After graduating, we had the opportunity to sail together in a wide variety of classes and events—match racing, team racing, offshore sailing, and small keelboats. We wanted to get back into more small boat and also focus our racing in one class, so we started sailing the 470.
What are your campaign goals?
Kaity Storck: Our long term campaign goal is to eventually be the best in the class. We hope to go the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.
Lyndsey Gibbons-Neff: Our campaign goals are to become the best in the world by the 2016 Olympics and win the gold. Although these games are a long ways away, we are presently establishing the groundwork in order to achieve this long-term goal.
Do you have any mentors that have helped you through the campaigning and/or organizing process?
Kaity Storck: My brother Erik started a 49er campaign a few years ago and has helped in many ways with the organizing and the encouragement needed when you feel like you shouldn’t be doing what you’re doing, or when you feel really overwhelmed by the journey ahead. Though he is not that far along into his campaign, he is a few steps ahead of me and has been able to share many of the lessons he learned early on. Erik, my oldest brother John and the rest of my family, along with numerous friends have encouraged me to take the leap and start a 470 campaign. Although I have wanted to do an Olympic campaign since I was very young, when the time comes to start it can be discouraging; my family and friends as a whole have really helped me through that difficult part of the process.
Lyndsey Gibbons-Neff: As a member of the USSDT, US SAILING has helped us with the logistical planning and by creating team atmosphere. Kaity’s brother Erik and his crew Trevor are also good mentors since they have experience with campaigning as well.
How did you decide upon campaigning a 470 vs a different boat, or match racing?
Kaity Storck: The options for women in Olympic sailing are limited: windsurfing, laser radial, 470 or match racing. The first two I could rule out quickly as I do not even know how to windsurf and I am not really a single-handed sailor, I’m also a little small for the radial (mostly in height at 5’4’’ on a good day). I did consider going into match racing for a little while. I have done a lot of team racing and really love it and match racing requires similar skills. However, I realized that I didn’t find match racing quite as exciting as team racing. Additionally, I have an extensive 420 background which always made me want to sail a 470. The 470 is also a great boat to learn an incredible amount about sailing that previously you might not have even known you didn’t know, so while I am young I’d like to sail a boat that will make me a significantly better sailor for the many years to come and I think the 470 will do that.
Lyndsey Gibbons-Neff: I wanted to continue to sail dinghies as well as sail in a trapeze boat again. Match racing is fun and I hope to sail in more events, but it was not something that I really thought about to do full time.
What is your team's greatest strength?
Kaity Storck: I think our greatest strength is our dedication to the hard work it takes to get to the top. I’ve already mentioned Lyndsey’s hard work ethic but I also have a competitive drive that keeps me working at something. I feel that when I/ we have had sailing success in the past it was not just from our talent but from a lot of hard work and a drive to be better than others and I think that will be our greatest strength in this campaign.
Lyndsey Gibbons-Neff: We are very dedicated to our team because we both enjoy the competitiveness of the sport. We also both work really hard, which will help us overcome the inevitable hurdles involved with Olympic class sailing.
What is your team's greatest weakness?
Kaity Storck: We have thus far learned that we can be very bad at organizing, logistical planning, finances and fundraising, essentially all the aspects of a campaign that are very important but not directly related to sailing. Hopefully with time we can refine these business type skills and it will get easier.
Lyndsey Gibbons-Neff: Our greatest weakness is that we are new to the 470, which is a very technical boat. We are learning more about the tuning and boat handling everyday, but it takes time and can be frustrating. But as we make progress towards improving our weakness, we build more confidence as a team.
What is your favorite feature of the CleverPig website?
Kaity Storck: The fundraising section has helped me as well as the general how to start and manage a campaign sections, I guess that is all under “Plan a Campaign.” I looked at those a lot in the beginning.
Lyndsey Gibbons-Neff: My favorite part about the CleverPig website is that it a single site that combines guidance for planning your personal compaign and resources from other sailors who have experience in it. As for a single feature, I like the articles because I do not think I could find them anywhere else on-line.
Do you have any tips for someone who wants to campaign a boat (not necessarily an Olympic boat)?
Kaity Storck: One must focus on the boat they are campaigning and make it their top priority if they want to succeed in that boat/ class. It can be difficult to achieve your best if you are trying to be good at many types of sailing all at once. However, I also strongly believe that sailors can learn a lot by stepping out of their comfort zone and sailing in classes they are not familiar with, as long as they do this with the attitude of having fun and learning (not necessarily expecting to win). One of the great aspects of our sport is that there are an endless number of boats to try and different types of racing to experience, and trying these different options will always help you learn things that you can apply to your class that maybe you would not have learned otherwise. I meet way too many dinghy sailors who have never stepped on a big boat and vice versa. So I guess what I am saying is that when campaigning a specific boat, make that your absolute first priority but leave the door open for some other sailing to keep it fun and make sure you keep learning about our great sport in different ways and as much as you can; and that’s the real thing, it is all about learning, you must always keep learning in all ways possible.
Lyndsey Gibbons-Neff: My advice is to stay organized, be open-minded, and talk to people in the class who have been campaigning. Their advice can be extremely helpful, but remember that you may run your campaign differently or have a different sailing style. And what works for them, may not be the best for your team. In the end, trust yourself and your teammates.
"World's Best Women Match Racers Gather In Calpe
Organized by the Real Club Nautico Calpe, the Xll International Women's Match Race Criterium takes place in the charming Spanish village of Calpe from 4 - 8 May.
The best women’s match race specialists worldwide will be competing for valuable match racing points.
On the first day, the eleven crews were welcomed at the club's premises for the final registration and the sailors' weighing.
Difficult weather conditions, heavy rain and cold temperatures, characterized the preliminary training sessions during which the crews had the chance to get to know the Tom 28 boats better, that will be used for the racing.
The Opening ceremony was held at the Salón Belliure of Real Club Náutico Calpe with the presence of local authorities and skippers, including last years' winner Claire Leroy. Her Royal Highness Infanta Doña Cristina is the honorary president of the regatta.
Reaching the twelfth edition, the Criterium International is an ISAF Grade 1 event and proves to be one of the season's unmissable match-racing events, as confirmed by the presence of a top level lineup:
Skipper Nationality World Ranking
Caire Leroy France 2
Katie Spithill Australia 3
Anna Tunnicliffe United States 4
Silke Hahlbrock Germany 5
Anne-Claire Le Berre France 6
Klaartje Zuiderbaan Netherland 10
Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen Denmark 11
Camilla Ulrikkeholm Denmark 12
Samantha Osborne New Zealand 16
Margarita Cameselle Alvarez Spain 40
Tamara Echegoyen Spain 84
The event will consist of round robins, quarter finals, semi-finals and finals starting from 5 May.
For more details visit:: www.rcnc.es
"Yale and Boston College Win ICSA National Semifinals
A total of 36 of the best college sailing teams in the country competed in last weekend’s 2010 Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) National Championship Eastern and Western Semifinals. The semifinal rounds took place on opposite coasts to determine the top 18 teams (nine from each semifinal) who advance to the ICSA/Gill Coed National Championship, hosted by the University of Wisconsin on May 25 – June 3.
In the Western Semifinal, hosted by the University of Washington (Seattle, Wash.), fourth ranked Yale edged second ranked St. Mary’s by just two points for the win. In the Eastern Semifinal, hosted by the College of Charleston (Charleston, S.C.), top ranked Boston College won by an impressive 35 point margin over seventh ranked College of Charleston.
US SAILING, the National Governing Body of the sport, is a proud sponsor of ICSA. For each semifinal, US SAILING awarded the Grit Award for Perseverance, which recognizes the teams who fulfilled the ninth and final qualifying spots for the ICSA National Championship. This year’s winners were Stanford (Western Semifinal) and Kings Point (Eastern Semifinal). Competition for the final spots was closely contested, and both Stanford and Kings Point displayed the determination necessary to secure a trip to nationals.
Members of the Kings Point and Stanford sailing teams receive a four-year US SAILING College Membership and a specially embroidered Atlantis jacket. This membership incorporates all the great benefits that an adult US SAILING Membership offers. The college membership is valid for US SAILING Instructor certification requirements. In addition, members will receive a complimentary iPhone application and hard copy for the Racing Rules of Sailing 2009-2012 Including US SAILING Prescriptions, as well as special discounts from US SAILING partners including access to the digital edition of Sailing World, and more.
"US Sailing's Interview with BMW ORACLE Racing Team Tactician John Kostecki
US SAILING was fortunate to catch up with BMW ORACLE Racing Team Tactician John Kostecki, while his team competes at the RC 44 Austria Cup. The two-time winner of US SAILING's Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Award (2002, 1988) has a diverse and unique racing resume that includes a silver medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in the Soling class, a win at the 2001-02 Volvo Ocean Race as the skipper for Illbruck Challenge, and most recently Kostecki served as the tactician for the America's Cup winning BMW ORACLE Racing Team. Read on to hear what John had to say about his sailing achievements.
You’ve won the America’s Cup, a Volvo Ocean Race, and a silver medal in the Olympics… What is your favorite sailing achievement and why?
Each of those achievements were very important to me at the time. They're all very hard to do and take a lot of time, energy and focus. I still enjoy all types of racing in our sport and I've been around for a while now, so that means you start to have achievements across the sport. It's satisfying now to have won the America’s Cup, won the Volvo Ocean Race and to have an Olympic medal. As far as we know, not too many people have done that. So certainly, that's a point of pride. But for me, sailing different classes and different types of events is fun and keeps it exciting.
What did it mean to you as one of the few Americans competing for the America’s Cup?
It's been a goal of mine for a while, so it's very satisfying to achieve that goal and bring the cup back to the U.S. I know Larry Ellison has been very keen to win it and bring the America’s Cup back to the U.S., so it is very satisfying.
How important was it for the U.S. to re-claim the America’s Cup? What does it mean for sailing in the U.S.?
Hopefully it will mean a lot. I know it is part of Larry's (Ellison) vision to elevate the profile of the sport and use this as a chance to educate people who don't know too much about our sport. If it's done the right way, I think it could really improve and energize the sport in the U.S. I think we have an opportunity to do some good things and make it more popular.
What did you enjoy most about your America’s Cup campaign? What did you enjoy the least?
I enjoyed sailing multihulls. I hadn't sailed them much before this and we really had to go all out and learn how to sail these kind of boats. So that was very satisfying. There was a lot of learning involved and I always enjoy that. The hardest part was the uncertainty and having to constantly make changes and adjustments because of the court issues. But we had to do it, we did it well as a team, and ultimately we were successful.
What was it about the 1983 America’s Cup that inspired you to want to compete in this race?
I can remember watching it on TV as a kid. All the other kids were out doing fun stuff outside and I remember being the only one staying in to watch it on TV. It was a really big moment, not just in sailing, and not even just in sport. I went beyond that. I can still remember thinking as I was watching that one day I want to do that.
So much occurred in the first few minutes of race one at the America’s Cup. What was the adrenaline like on board?
I think as a team we were mentally prepared to start and excited to get racing after all the build-up and hype. It was an exciting start. We made a few mistakes, but everything was relatively calm on board. Everyone was pretty focused on their job. We just really didn't have any idea whether we would be faster or they would be. You can only do so much in your testing and until you line up, you don't know. But a minute or two after we got going it was clear we were higher and faster in certain conditions.
Have you ever sailed in any of US SAILING’s National Championships? If so, which ones and when?
I haven't done anything recently, but in 1981 I won US SAILING's U.S. Junior Championships (now referred to as US SAILING’s Chubb U.S. Junior Championships) for the Richmond Yacht Club. And in 1982 I won US SAILING's Championship of Champions. That was the year I won the Sunfish worlds and the Championship of Champions happened to be in the Sunfish so I was quite fortunate.
How does your tactical knowledge for inshore racing translate to offshore, and vice versa?
In most cases, the two don't really transfer too much. The VOR (Volvo Ocean Race) of course is really long distance racing and inshore racing like the America's Cup is very different. But in terms of developing a boat, there are a lot of similarities. This last time, in developing the trimaran for BMW ORACLE Racing was a similar process in many ways with what you do with a Volvo boat. There's a lot of testing and a lot of trial and error. And the things you test for offshore usually make big differences and that was the same with the trimaran.
Where do you get this passion for the sport that you share with our members?
I started sailing at age three in San Francisco with my parents then joined a junior program in the Bay area sailing on my own in a little Pram and basically graduated through bigger dinghies. And at the same time I would sail with my father on small keelboats. So from a young age, I really enjoyed it and was keen to go sailing every day I could.
In terms of racing, I certainly didn't start by winning, but I was always competitive and enjoyed it and liked the learning process.
Now, I still love sailing in good, exciting venues with fair sailing and good competition.
"Team Tunnicliffe Wins Silver Medal in Hyeres
Hyeres, France (April 30, 2010) – US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics’ (USSTAG) Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.), Molly Vandemoer (Redwood City, Calif.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) won a silver medal in the Women’s Match Racing event at the 42nd French Sailing Week today, after finishing 1-3 in the final series against Germany’s Silke Hohlbrock. This was their second podium finish in the 2009-2010 International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Sailing World Cup series, after winning gold at US SAILING’s 2010 Rolex Miami OCR in January. Tunnicliffe’s team sailed strong and smart rounds throughout the week, but piecing together the puffs proved difficult in today’s first-to-three final series, and they found themselves on the wrong sides of the shifts more often than not.
“It was a tough day. When it’s that shifty and you don’t get your choice of the shifts, it’s hard to gain back what you’ve already lost,” said Tunnicliffe, the 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist in the Laser Radial and the 2009 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year. “Hohlbrock sailed a really good series, and they definitely deserved to win.
“During the week, we were working on teamwork and communication, which we did really well,” she said. “We kept it simple and sailed smart. Today, we put too much pressure on ourselves and we weren’t thinking clearly. Our biggest takeaway is to keep it simple, even in the higher rounds. We need to do what we know how to do.”
Light air plagued the ISAF Sailing World Cup event this week, as “hurrying up to wait” became a recurring theme for the top Olympic and Paralympic class sailors in the world. Today, limp AP flags greeted sailors who had qualified for the top-ten Medal Races and the Women’s Match Racing finals. After the sixth morning postponement in a row, sailors set out to compete in a challenging 1-4 knot, shifty breeze.
Two other USSTAG boats competed in today’s Medal Races: 2008 Olympians Amanda Clark (Shelter Harbor, N.Y.) and Sarah Chin (Hoboken, N.J.) finished eighth overall among 44 Women’s 470 boats, while Olympic Silver Medalist Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) finished ninth in the 52-boat Finn class. “I just tried to make the best out of difficult and ever-changing conditions,” said Railey.
“Consistent racing always pays off, and in this edition of the French Sailing Week, it was ever more important,” said USSTAG’s High Performance Director and Head Coach Kenneth Andreasen (Tampa, Fla.). “Challenged by light and shifty wind conditions, the team did their best to stay sharp throughout the week.”
After enduring frustrating travel sagas to even get to France, thanks to Iceland’s volcanic ash, USSTAG members were anxious to get on the water and have some consistent races this week. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans, which favored tourists. As a result, sailors stared at glassy water for most of the week, until yesterday, when they were finally able to get in a full day of racing to wrap up the qualifying series. Patience and staying focused were key to enduring the long days on shore and then racing in challenging conditions late in the day.
Railey had a realistic perspective: “Postponements and waiting is part of the sport. Sometimes the wind just isn’t going to work in your favor. I just try to relax and wait for the Race Committee to make a decision on when to race and then go out and try to perform.”
“Hyères just really hasn't been itself this week,” said fellow Finn sailor Bryan Boyd (Annapolis, Md.). “We're all used to cold howling winds here, but this week has been more suitable for supermodels working on their tans.”
This week was an excellent notebook regatta for members of the US Sailing Development Team, some of whom were in Europe for their first Sailing World Cup series. The members found learning opportunities in tough conditions, and debriefed with coaches and sought advice from seasoned USSTAG members.
USSTAG is made up of the United States’ top athletes in each of the 10 Olympic and three Paralympic classes who train together with the common goals of winning medals at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Weymouth, England. The US Sailing Development Team is a new youth pipeline team comprised of future Olympic hopefuls, who are learning the skills required to launch successful campaigns and compete at an elite level. The next ISAF Sailing World Cup event is the Delta Lloyd Regatta, scheduled for May 26-30, 2010, in Medemblik, The Netherlands.
For final results of all USSTAG and USSDT sailors, exclusive video interviews and action photos, please visit the event web site:
http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/Events/World_Cup/SOF_2010.htm
"Leaders keep position to go into Medal Racesat SOF Hyeres Regatta
The conditions didn’t improve on the penultimate day of the 42nd Semaine Olympique Française, in Hyères. The fourth leg of the Sailing World Cup has been marked by light winds, which is unusual for the Hyères event renowned for providing mixed conditions.
As a consequence, most leaders conserved their earlier position with changes only in the Laser, Laser radial and Star.
In the Finn class, Marin Misura (CRO) who truly enjoyed the conditions this week is comforting his lead after claiming one more race. “I am very fast in these conditions. I had good starts which is important to have clear winds. Hyères is my first regatta this year and it’s a good preparation for the Europeans next week in my hometown, Split!” Last year winner, Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) will start the medal race in second position. Jonathan Lobert (FRA) and Thomas Lebreton (FRA) are continuing to improve in the Finn fleet after qualifying in the medal race for the third time this year. The French Finns are collecting the fruits of hard training last winter: “We did some intense training with Ed Wright over the winter in Fort Lauderdale, and it is now paying off!! Tomas and I also train well together and we are both progressing.” explains Lobert.
Two races were sailed in the RS:X classes. The light conditions didn’t permit for a third race as there were no planning conditions (as specified in the class rules). Byron Kokalanis (GRE) continues on his good form after winning Palma. A victory and a fifth increase his lead and chances to secure Gold tomorrow as he takes the top place. In the women division, Bryony Shaw (GBR) collected near perfect scores with a first and a second. She has secured an 18 points lead over Bianca Manchon (ESP).
Shaw explains her results this week: “It’s great to be in such a strong position going into the medal race. I knew that I was strong in the light winds so that’s been a bonus, but it’s also encouraging to know that the work done on technique has really paid off and we’ve seen the benefits of that this week. It’s been a really demanding week – physically and mentally – not just on the water with the light wind we’ve had, but the delays are pretty draining as well. Our race officer has done a pretty good job with the conditions we’ve had and the races we’ve had have been good.”
Mixed results were scored in the 470 men Gold fleet with all the top teams collecting bad scores. The French teams of Nicolas Charbonnier and Baptiste Meyer Dieu (FRA) and Camille Lecointre and Mathilde Geron conserve their lead in their division. Giulia Conti and Giovanna Micol (ITA) climb to second position overall. SOF last year winners the Danish team of Koch/Sommer miss on Medal Race on 12th position. The new 470 team of Golden Yngling medallist Sarah Ayton and Saskia Clarke finish in 14th place.
Paul Brotherton and Mark Asquith (GBR) place second twice today and keep their first place. Austrian team of Dellekarth/Resch jump to second after a bullet collected today.
In the 2.4, Damien Seguin (FRA) adds one more win to his score. Thierry Schmitter (NED) is in second position. In the Sonar, Israel team of Cohen/Efrati/Vexler is sharing the lead with early leader Norwegian team of Hang Wangsen. The 2.4 and Sonar will race normal fleet races tomorrow.
In the Laser class, only the top three will be able to take Gold or Silver tomorrow. After winning the Trofeo Sofia Mapfre in Palma last month, Javier Hernandez took a narrow one point lead over Olympic Gold medallist, Paul Goodison (GBR). Athens Silver medallist Andrea Geritzer (AUT) is in third position. Some class favourites have missed narrowly the medal races. Michael Leigh (CAN), Tonci Stipanovic (CRO) and Mathias del Solar (CHI) have suffered from the light conditions.
Sari Multala (FIN) suffered in the last races today and dropped from 1st to 14th position overall. Ausra Mileviciute (LTU) and Spanish Alicia Cebrian and Fatima Reyes are taking the top three races before the medal race.
The Norwegian Stars Eivind Melleby and Petter Morland take the lead in the seven Stars fleet. They will sail a medal race tomorrow.
Today saw some intense matches in the Women Match Racing. After the quarter finals The German team of Silke Hohlbrock defeated Kathy Spithill (AUS) 3-0. Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) defeated Claire Leroy (FRA) 3-1.
Silke Hohlbrock: “After loosing the first two races in the first round robin, we didn’t lose a single match. Before the regatta we trained in Kiel with lots of wind. We needed some days to adapt to the light conditions. Today we had a good upwind speed. In Palma we beat Tunnicliffe twice but here is a different story. Any small mistake can make the difference. She has a good record here so we will see.”
Anna Tunnicliffe: “We were able to race 7 really good races today. I really enjoyed racing the semi finals against Claire Leroy. She is a very good sailor. With these light conditions it is very hard to know what happen until the end. On the last leg against Claire, she had a penalty and we decided to keep it simple and go straight to the finish to secure the race. The organisers have made a fantastic job, especially with the lights conditions and wind coming late.”
The Women Match-Racing final and the Medal races will start at 10 am tomorrow morning.
Follow the medal races tomorrow with live tracking, on the event website.
"470 report from Hyeres (SOF): Graham Biehl & Stu McNay
Light air greeted us yet again as dawn broke. At least this time the fleet wasnt all gung-ho. Everyone stayed on shore when we should have and postponement was under way.
A few hours later we finally were sent out in a southerly, typically not a very reliable direction. It was our final race for the qualifying series so we knew we had to make it count.
Race 4
With the breeze light and spotty we elected for a boat end start thinking the breeze was a littler stronger on the right hand side. Unfortunately at go we were a little behind so we had a lot of tacks to do to find a lane. We headed out right in nice pressure and made some nice distance on the course. By the top mark we rounded in a very surprising 17th and headed off on the reach. Unfortunately at the wing mark we made a crucial error that sealed the rest of the race. We jibed and should have gone straight instead seeing the pressure was better that way. We only lost 4 boats downwind but more importantly lost a lot of distance on the course, and to the lead group. The rest of the race went pretty standard, and managed a 24th at the line. Good enough for Gold fleet.
After race 4 we headed in to see the final qualifying results. Once ashore the protests got going, and kept us on shore much longer than we should have been. Everything finally got sorted and at 5:05pm the flags were lowered for race 5.
Race 5
Knowing we had nothing to loose, and everything to gain trying to get to the medal race, we came out with a fired up attitude and ready to get down to business. We picked a decent spot on the starting line and had a good start. We picked some good lanes and fought right. Just when we thought we were going well the wind swung 15 degrees right and we were positioned on the left side. We sailed all the way to port layline and had a rough sail back in to the top mark, only ahead of about 8 boats. We went low on the reach, and positioned ourselves nicely for the run. We jibed immediately and found ourselves already top 20! We had a strong conviction for the next beat and stuck to it, gaining even more places by keeping to the right. For the last downwind we managed to pass another boat, crossing the line in 14th! After the OCS’ were accounted for we finished an amazing 11th.
With a discard added in after 5 races, we stand 28th at the moment. Tomorrow is the last day of fleet racing, and we are 24 points out from 10th. Still plenty of opportunity but it will be tough work. Tomorrows forecast isn’t good at all so any racing we get in would be fantastic. Wish us luck!
http://teammb.org/index.html
"Hyeres: Longest day on the water
It was closed to 9PM when the 49ers came back to shore. Paul Brotherton and Mark Asquith (GBR) keep a ten points lead on the fleet despite a place of 25 collected on the last Gold fleet race. The 42nd Semaine Olympique Française in Hyères counts 20 years since Brotherton’s first appearance in Hyères in 1990 in the 470 class.
French teams lead in the Star and 470 classes. Guillaume Florent and Pascal Rambeau keep the first place in the Star despite a DSQ collected after rounding the wrong mark. Nicolas Charbonnier and Baptiste Meyer-Dieu conserve their lead in the Men’s division. Mathew Belcher (AUS) is racing with Will Ryan (training partner) while Malcom Page is competing in the Farr 40 worlds. The new pair, in fourth overall has just won the 470 Spring Cup. “We are using this regatta to keep developing and improving before the Worlds this summer. We are used to stronger winds but it is a good opportunity to get good in these conditions as well. The hardest thing today was the eight hours wait!”
Camille Lecointre and Mathilde Geron (FRA), 6th in Miami have had a near perfect day with two victories and a 6th. “We understood the situation on the water but it was hard. The waiting tested everybody’s nerves. It is mentally hard. On the water we had good speed and could get away from the group. We will take it easy tomorrow and try to limit the damages! There are still three races to do and the medal race, so everything is still possible.”
Trofeo Sofia Mapfre winner, Byron Kokalanis won both races in the RS:X Gold fleet. He is catching on regatta leader Piotr Myszka (POL) who keeps a narrow one point lead over the lead. Bryony Shaw (GBR) has increased her dominance on the women’s division with 13 points over Blanca Manchon (ESP). Laura Linares (ITA) has entered the top three with a win and a third place.
2009 Laser radial World Champion Sari Multala (FIN) has jumped to first place in the Radial fleet. Paul Goodison (GBR) is keeping the lead in the Laser, the Beijing Gold medallist is returning to international competition in Hyères after racing in big boats since the Skandia Sail For Gold regatta last year.
In the Finn class, three races were sailed today, more than in the last three days! Marin Misura (CRO), 5th in Hyères last year, replaces his team mate Kljakovic Gaspic in the top position. He is on equal points with Ed Wright (GBR), winner in Miami and Palma earlier this year and 2009 SWC winner.
After the Repechage stage in the Women Match racing that qualified Claire Leroy and Silvia Roca, the top 8 will sail straight into the quarter final without racing the Gold Round Robin. Pairings will see:
Roca (ESP) vs TUNNICLIFFE (USA)
MacGregor (GBR) vs Hahlbrock (GER)
Skudina (RUS) vs Spithill (AUS)
Leroy (FRA) vs Le Berre (FRA)
Racing resume tomorrow with the same weather conditions expected.
"US Sailing Invites Young Olympic Hopefuls to Training Camp in Annapolis
US SAILING's Olympic Sailing Committee will organize and run an open training camp in Annapolis, Md., for US Sailing Development Team members and youth sailors with Olympic aspirations in the Laser, Laser Radial, I420 and Techno classes. The three-day, intensive training camp will include on-the-water drills and racing, as well as chalk talks and seminars about rules and technique. Olympic and elite level coaches will teach young athletes about the tools they need to take their sailing to a new, elite level and achieve top, international results. Hosted by the Annapolis Yacht Club, the camp runs from May 29-31. Sailors interested in attending the Annapolis training clinics should email clinic organizers at development@ussailing.org with their plans for competing and training in 2010. The deadline is May 3, 2010. More: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/Releases/Annapolis_Training_Camp.htm
"Snail pace in Hyeres
Each race counts in Hyères! The 2010 SOF Hyères – Toulon Provence Méditerranée, fourth event in the ISAF Sailing Wold Cup | 
- 
