This whole article is very informative but slightly flawed. At RWU there is powerhouse, Max Lopez, freshman who red shirted fall semester and senior Cameron pimental. With these two active ita safe bet they will be unstoppable.
2012 ICSA SPRING TEAM RACE PRE-SEASON RANKINGS & OUTLOOK
SAIL1DESIGN ICSA TEAM RACE RANKINGS PREVIEW
Sponsored by Atlantis Weathergear
With February now upon us, just a few weeks remain until the spring college sailing season gets underway! I am sure that college sailors around the country are ready to hit the water again. Though the season has many fleet racing regattas, college sailing tends to switch gears to focus on team racing for much of the spring season. Teams need to rely more on depth and strong leadership to find success on the water in preparation for conference and national championships later in the spring. Our panel of coaches from around the country have reflected on the teams’ performances and key players and have provided an outlook as to who they think will be the strong teams going into the season. [Read more…] about 2012 ICSA SPRING TEAM RACE PRE-SEASON RANKINGS & OUTLOOK
Miami Olympic Classes Regatta Final Results
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Champions Crowned in Ten Olympic Classes |
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In the lightest breezes yet over six days of sailing on Biscayne Bay, ten Olympic classes racing in US Sailing’s Rolex Miami OCR still managed to put on quite a show as they competed in their final medal races to determine gold, silver and bronze winners. Following the same format as the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics, the event also hosted three Paralympic classes (which determined medal winners yesterday) and a total of 529 sailors from 41 countries. In Star class, Brazil’s two-time Olympic medalists and that country’s most successful and celebrated sailors, Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada, won the gold after finishing third in today’s medal race. “When you go into the medal race, many guys can win,” said Scheidt. “You cannot focus only on one guy, so our strategy was to try to make a clean start, especially with speed, because the wind was very light; that was more important than getting to the favored end.” Sneaking into the top-three overall, where they had not been all week, was France’s Xavier Rohart/Pierre Alexis Ponso, who finished second today. The performance secured them the silver medal with just the edge they needed over the bronze medalists Eivind Melleby/ Petter Moerland Pedersen (NOR), who finished sixth today and also had been in third at racing’s end yesterday. Losing what seemed to be a sure podium position going into today was Fredrik Loof/Max Salminen’s (SWE), who finished eighth in the medal race and fell to fourth overall from second yesterday, only one point out of medal reach. “The wind made a big shift to the left on the first beat,” said Scheidt, “but we weren’t there. We were trying to cover the Swedish, and then we were able to tack on them two times and bounce them to the right. Then the left paid big, and we managed to round sixth at the top mark. From then on our race was a little more comfortable, but we were still afraid of the French who were doing really well. We climbed to fourth, and they were in third; in the end, we nailed a third and the French got second.” Scheidt added that all of the top four teams plus more here will be competing at the Olympics, “and they will be stronger, so I think it was very nice for us to win the first regatta of the year. It gives us confidence but we know we have a long way to go until Weymouth.” For Paul Goodison (GBR) and Bruno Fontes (BRA), it was all equal (point scores of 20 each) going into the Laser race today, so it was literally who-beat-whom that would determine gold. “I decided to engage a little before the start but nothing too much,” said Goodison, the 2008 Laser Olympic Gold Medalist and 2009 World Champion, who finished second to Fontes’s fifth. “I won the right hand side of my competition and just pulled away from there. Once I was in front, it was just about extending the lead.” With Fontes not able to sail away with anything less than a silver medal, it was David Wright’s (CAN) focus to win the bronze, which he did by finishing fourth. “All week the racing has been glamour–really good breeze, but today was quite tricky with it being much lighter and quite patchy,” said Goodison. “ Out of the first six races I won four of them, so I was really happy with that, and then going into the gold fleet (mid-week ), it was all about consolidating that lead.” Favored going into today’s 49er race, Nico Karth/Nikolaus Resch (AUT) finished second to secure the gold, while Erik Storck/Trevor Moore (USA) won the race to maintain their second-place position from yesterday and take home silver. “This week has been perfect for us,” said Karth, who with Resch is a two-time Olympian and has qualified his country for the Olympics but has yet to be named to the Olympic Team. “We were struggling in the first few races, but by the end of the week we made it hard for them (Storck/Moore) to catch up.” (The Austrians had a 19-point lead going into the medal race.) Winning the bronze was Lauri Lehtinen/Kalle Bask (FIN), who had been in third overall yesterday. Lijia Xu, China’s Laser Radial Olympic Bronze Medalist from 2008 and a 2006 World Champion, won the gold here after finishing eighth today to Marit Bouwmeester’s (NED) ninth, which was good for silver. “It was very competitive,” said Xu, who positioned herself as close as possible to Bouwmeester today in order to control her. “We have the medalists from the 2011 World Championships in Perth and many other good sailors from all around the world.” The Perth champions are Bouwmeester, Belgium’s Evi Van Acker, and the USA’s Paige Railey, and while Van Acker finished fourth today to take the bronze medal, Railey won the race. “Weymouth (where the Olympic Sailing Regatta will take place) could be light to medium breeze, so it is good practice,” added Xu. In 470 Men’s, Australia’s Mathew Belcher/Malcolm Page held the lead the entire week, and in today’s medal race finished tenth to clinch the gold. Ahead of them in eighth place were Sven Coster/Kalle Coster (NED), who took the silver, with fourth-place finishers Panagoitis Kampouridis/Efstathios (GRE) taking the bronze. To secure the gold in 470 Women’s, Lisa Westerhof/Lobke Berkhout (NED), who are two-time World Champions and heading to the Olympic Games, had to make top-six in today’s medal race and ended up taking third. “It was very tricky and very light,” said Westerhof, adding that waves from spectator boats sometimes stopped them in their tracks. After day two, Westerhof/Berkhout had jumped ahead of Great Britain’s Hannah Mills and Saskia Clarke, who took the silver today after finishing fourth. “The British spilled some points on one day, and we kept sailing very strong,” said Westerhof. The bronze was won by Sophie Weguelin/Sophie Ainsworth (GBR) after they won today’s race. Lucy Macgregor/Annie Lush/ Kate Macgregor (GBR) won the gold medal in Women’s Match Racing with a 3-1 win over Olivia Price/Nina Curtis/Lucinda Whitty (AUS), who had to settle for silver after their fates were sealed in the final match of their first-to-three flight. The race looked to be going the Aussies’ way when GBR lagged as much as 12 boat lengths behind during the first lap of the twice-around course. Their momentum was halted, however, on the second upwind leg when they hit some major waves and tried to tack with too little speed while GBR closed the gap. Back in the game, GBR sailed to a lead that exchanged mouse for cat, and with plenty of further batting around, proved that match racing is one of the most exciting Olympic disciplines to watch. Taking bronze in the Petit Finals after battling with Australia’s Olivia Price/Nina Curtis/Lucinda Whitty was the USA’s Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.)/Elizabeth Kratzig-Burnham (Miami, Fla.)/Alana O’Reilly (Charleston, S.C.). Demita Vega De Lille (MEX) considers her gold medal here in RS:X Women’s another notch in the harness she wears while Taking the silver was Farrah Hall (USA), who has won the right among fellow teammates to go to the Olympic Games but has yet to qualify her country, while winning bronze was Dominique Vallee (CAN). Nick Dempsey (GBR), who will represent his country at the Olympic Games, was rehearsing all week for his victory today in the RS:X Men’s windsurfing race. In fact, this was his 11th straight win in as many races here. Fellow teammate Elliot Carney clinched the silver with 31 overall points to Dempsey’s 11, while Sebastian Wang-Hansen (NOR) took the bronze with 38 points overall. If anyone else’s performance here could be called decisive for the gold it would have to be Zach Railey’s (Clearwater, Fla., USA) in the 25-boat Finn class. With a 12-point lead over Denmark’s Jonas Hogh Christensen going into today and nothing worse than a third-place finish in his 10-race lead-up series, Railey won today’s race for good measure, leaving Hogh Christensen to take fourth for silver. With 18 points separating those two in the final standings, Canada’s Greg Douglas finished third today to add six points to his score line (another 12 points behind Hogh Christensen) and post a final 45 points for bronze. “Miami is where I went to college and it all started here, training full time and wanting to make the push towards the Olympic Games,” said Railey, who graduated in 2006 and won an Olympic Silver Medal at the 2008 Games, “and now I’m going back to the Games in 2012, and to have my first World Cup victory here in Miami makes it sweeter.” About today’s race, Railey said, “I definitely knew that there was going to be some pressure from the Danish sailor. We were locked in a pretty tight match race there before the start, but I was able to break away from him and sail my own race. The goal going in was to capitalize on my performance this week and go out in a good dominating fashion.” US Sailing’s Golden Torch Award US Sailing’s Rolex Miami OCR, established in 1990, is open to boats competing in events chosen for the Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Competitions. The event is significant as the second of seven stops on ISAF’s Sailing World Cup circuit and is the only of those to be hosted in North America. The USA was represented with the largest contingent of teams (135), followed by Canada (85), Sweden and The Netherlands (25 each), Great Britain (22), then Argentina and Norway (both 14). Fifteen nations were represented in Saturday night’s Medal Ceremony. Taking away the most medals was Great Britain with eight (3 golds, 4 silvers, 1 bronze), followed by the USA and The Netherlands with five each (respectively, 3 silvers, 2 bronze, and 2 golds, 2 silvers, one bronze). Canada claimed four medals, while Norway and Australia each came away with three; Brazil and France with two, and Austria, Finland, China, Belgium, Greece, Denmark and Mexico each with one apiece. Regatta Headquarters are located at the US Sailing Center Miami, an official Olympic training center, in the Coconut Grove section of Miami, Fla. Event organizers have partnered with the city of Miami to provide world-class venues for competition. Additional hosts for the event include Coral Reef Yacht Club, Key Biscayne Yacht Club, Coconut Grove Sailing Club, Miami Rowing Club and Shake-a-Leg Miami. These sailing organizations host classes onshore, as well as help run the on-the-water racing. The Coral Reef Yacht Club also hosts the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. In addition to title sponsor Rolex Watch U.S.A., the 2012 Rolex Miami OCR is also sponsored by AlphaGraphics, Sperry Top-Sider, Harken McLube, Kattack, Gowrie-Chubb, Trinity Yachts and the University of Miami Hospital. A complete roster of competitors can be viewed at the event website http://rmocr.ussailing.org, where video highlights produced by T2p.tv and presented by Rolex are available on-demand and full regatta results, photos and news updates are posted. Fans also followed the event on Facebook/RMOCR and Twitter/RMOCR. (end) Sonar (10 boats) – 10 races Skud-18 (6 boats) – 10 races 2.4mR (25 boats) – 10 races 49er (23 boats) – 15 races + Medal Race Star (29 boats) – 10 races + Medal Race Laser Radial (60 boats) – 10 races + Medal Race 470 Men (22 boats) – 10 races + Medal Race 470 Women (15 boats) – 10 races + Medal Race Laser (Gold) (37 boats)-10 races + Medal Race Finn (25 boats) – 10 races + Medal Race RS: X Men (14 boats) – 10 races + Medal Race RS: X Women (12 boats) – 10 races + Medal Race Women’s Match Racing |
Congrats to Andrew Sayre and the Villanova Sailing Team
Andrew, Congrats to you and your teammates for your leadership in promoting awareness about the Villanova Sailing Team, and for organizing and establishing a fundraising campaign. On a trip back from a Coast Guard Regatta I remember that you had explained all the struggles you had faced, when all you wanted to do was sail, from difficulty finding a coach to other issues re: leasing/storing the boats. I am so glad that you appear to have achieve all of your goals. This article is great, and so is your FaceBook and Team webpages. Hopefully Villanova will come to realize how very lucky they are to have you as a passionate member of their community. You have been a wonderful role model to all of the young sailors you have mentored at the Weekapaug Yacht Club in R.I. and we are also grateful for your passion and devotion to the sport. We’ll be sure to follow your progress and wish you and your team the best of luck for a great season. All our best, Lisa Haidar and family
Don't forget UVic
No mention of UVic in NWICSA? Their team was third in A fleet at Co-ed champs last year. Incoming freshman include three members or former members of the Canadian Youth team, leading to a first place finish in A and B fleet at Frosh Soph!
Don't forget UVic
No mention of UVic in NWICSA? Their team was third in A fleet at Co-ed champs last year. Incoming freshman include three members or former members of the Canadian Youth team, leading to a first place finish in A and B fleet at Frosh Soph!
Margaret, Thank you!
You told our story perfectly and the added publicity for our team is huge! We have been working very hard to get where we are and to keep the ball rolling and we’ve learned that above all else getting our name out there with the help of people like you is the single most important thing we can do. So once again, from the whole Villanova Sailing Team THANK YOU! I’d encourage you to follow the team through our spring season and hopefully we can put our money where our mouth is so to speak and bring home some results to back up all the work we’ve been doing! -Andrew
Awesome Article
Wow! What a great article! Just checked out the website at villanovasailing.com. Seems like a great group of kids with some hidden talent and big plans ahead.
COLLEGE SAILING SPOTLIGHT- A New Year, Old Challenges, New Successes: The Villanova Story
By Airwaves writer Margaret Boehm
“From my experience over the past four years they [Villanova school administration] have fought us tooth and nail over every little thing we try to do. The people in the athletics administration, along with the risk management department, know nothing about sailing and it terrifies them,” says Andrew Sayre, a senior and team leader on the Villanova University club sailing team. Sayre is among a small group of dedicated sailors who are trying to revive the team founded in the late 1970s, dormant through the 1990s and brought to life again in 2003. Sayre and his cohorts hope to build the team in number of sailors and dollar signs in the team treasury, but this will not be easy.
Under Villanova regulations, the team is not allowed to hire a paid coach. Ideally they are to find a faculty member willing to sponsor and coach the team. The search for a faculty advisor has been unsuccessful; “So far we have not been able to find a professor with enough free time and enough of a passion for sailing to be willing to make this commitment.” Being unable to find a faculty sponsor and/or coach has severely limited the enthusiastic team that is determined to grow. Villanova mandates that a coach be present at every practice and regatta. This makes it impossible to split up and attend multiple regattas in one weekend, as do most teams in their MAISA division, the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association.
Each year, the team is given between $700-800. This amount does not even cover the leasing dues the team pays their home yacht club in order to use the facilities and the boats. The team supports themselves with member dues. Currently, the team is campaigning to raise $100,000 to be able to buy a fleet of boats and solidify a successful financial future for the team.
The team plans to organize fundraisers on campus to build awareness for the little known team, “most students at Villanova do not know that we have a sailing team. This is something we are trying to change,” says Sayre. Sailors are also encouraged to wear team gear around campus.
Along with promoting awareness for the team on campus, team leaders have also built up the team’s presence online. The Villanova Sailing Team has both twitter and facebook pages and recently won the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta video contest with one of the promotional videos they made the past year. The team was granted a $1500 prize for wining the video contest. Sayre and his teammates already have a big plan for the prize money. The Villanova Sailing Team was given a berth at the Charleston Intersectional in February. The team plans to send their volunteer coach Matt Newborn along with four sailors to the event. Unlike many teams who can fly from regatta to regatta, the team plans to make the 11-hour drive to Charleston. Despite the grueling drive ahead of them, Sayre is psyched for the opportunity to compete on a more competitive level, “We’re really excited to get the opportunity to sail against the top teams in an early season event like this. “
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As for building the small group, team leaders revamped the Villanova Sailing Team website, making it easier to navigate and adding a “recruitment questionnaire.” Thus far the team has been contacted by 14 prospective sailors, up from 1 sailor the previous year.
Despite their recent successes, the Villanova Sailing Team still has a difficult road ahead of them and they are hoping that if the team becomes more competitive the administration at Villanova will be more supportive of the team’s existence and its endeavors. “We really need to get the school on our side, or at least on the sideline and not against us,” according to Sayre. Fortunately, the students at Villanova are enthusiastic, “Other students are definitely supportive of the team, the problem is there is a general lack of knowledge about sailing as a sport within the school and on campus. You tell someone you’re on the sailing team or that you have to go to sailing practice and the general response is “don’t you just sit in boats?” Obviously this is something we are working on fixing and everyone on the team fully supports it.”
Worthy Sailing Causes 101: HCM J/24 ECC Regatta Commits to a Great Cause
PRESS RELEASE. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. December 22, 2011
The 2011 J/24 East Coast Championship is pleased to report that:
Our infrastructure will be leveraged to aid in Japanese Tsunami Relief
When Sumio Shimoyama and his team travelled from Japan to compete in the 2011 J24 East Coast Championship, few
of us knew what an impact he would make on our community during his visit. The values of fair play, kinship and
compassion truly rubbed off on the fleet in a positive and endearing way. When he told us about the devastation
wreaked upon Japan by the Tsunami this past March, we felt compelled to act.
As many of you know, on March 11, 2011, Japan’s eastern seaboard was struck by a massive Earthquake and Tsunami,
which left destruction and hardship in its wake. All of the assets of the Kesennuma High School Sailing Club were lost.
As the region and its schools rebuild, priorities are set. While it is understandable that High School sailing might not
top the project list, youth sailing is an activity that is near and dear to our hearts. Without private funding, the
Kesennuma High School Sailing Club will no longer exist. Please donate what you can to keep the sailing dreams of our
Japanese brothers and sisters alive.
As part of this effort, discussions are underway to build exchange programs between Japanese and American youth
sailors to deepen the ties between our communities.
Please visit http://j24eastcoastchampionship.com/KesennumaHigh_Payment_Form.aspx today and do what you can
to help.
For more information contact:
Mark Hillman Tel: 240-744-4500 email: [email protected]
MIT Sailing is Selling Dinghies & Gear
The MIT Sailing Pavilion is selling a whole bunch of extraneous equipment.
Please forward this along to community program leaders who might be
interested in picking up some sailing equipment at very reasonable prices.
All equipment should be picked up from the MIT Pavilion ASAP as we do not
plan on packing and shipping any of it.
Fifteen 2004 Jibe Tech Tech Dinghies totally complete and ready to sail
with 3 year old full sized sails and 10 year old storm sails. These boats
are self rescuing and have been professionally maintained through out their
lives. All lines and halyards are current and these boats need absolutely
nothing. Side buoyancy tanks are maintained to minimize leaks and all boats
got buffed and tefloned twice annually during their lives with MIT.
Laminated ash tillers are bomb proof and make the rudders float. $2500/
boat. Prefer to sell as a group. Twenty additional tech dinghies will
become available in mid June as we prepare for the 6th generation carbon
tech dinghy fleet to arrive. Perfect for day camps, adult or youth
learn-to-sail programs. Robust construction in every way.
http://sailing.mit.edu/gallery2/v/regattas/brassrat07/MIT+012.jpg.html
http://sailing.mit.edu/gallery2/v/team/Schell06/washington/
One Jibe Tech carbon fiber tech dinghy with tapered aluminum mast and North
3DL mainsail with 2 reef points. Lighter than a Laser! Easy to roof top.
Complete at $3500.
http://sailing.mit.edu/future/tech.php
Eighteen very nice FJ top covers built by Kinder Industries in RI. These
covers are between 2 and 4 years old and have tons of life left in them.
They are designed for boom off storage with generous wrap down along the
top sides. $120 each
Eighteen complete sets of colored mylar FJ sails. Yes, the most beautiful
looking sails are now making an exit from our program. We think the jibs
are quite beat up along the foot and the mainsails could probably go a bit
longer. Perfect for team racing or Red Sox pre game video shots. Jib sheets
are not included. Red, Blue, Grey, Yellow, Green, Orange. Also, one
prototype set of mylar FJ sails only used twice included. $1800 for all.
http://sailing.mit.edu/gallery2/v/OldMain/semi09_future.jpg.html
http://sailing.mit.edu/gallery2/v/OldMain/BosDhingyCup09_main.jpg.html
Eighteen 2007 North Dacron FJ mainsails with colored digits and viewing
windows. Windows are still good and these sails still have quite a bit of
life left in them, too. $200 for all of them and you carry them out.
http://sailing.mit.edu/gallery2/v/OldMain/FJ-Dock_SM.jpg.html
A Test for Sailors Headed to the Olympic and Paralympic Rolex Miami OCR
Miami, FL, USA
When US Sailing’s Rolex Miami OCR returns to Coconut
Grove, Fla., next week for its 23rd annual edition, top athletes from around
the world will be using it as an opportunity to jump-start ambitious sailing
goals for 2012, not the least of which, for some, is participation in this
summer’s London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. With racing scheduled
from Monday, January 23 through Saturday, January 28, the six-day Rolex Miami
OCR is the second of seven 2011-2012 ISAF Sailing World Cup regattas and
features elite-level competition in the classes selected for the Olympic and
Paralympic Games. At the close of registration on Sunday, 532 sailors
representing 44 countries had registered.
Grove, Fla., next week for its 23rd annual edition, top athletes from around
the world will be using it as an opportunity to jump-start ambitious sailing
goals for 2012, not the least of which, for some, is participation in this
summer’s London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. With racing scheduled
from Monday, January 23 through Saturday, January 28, the six-day Rolex Miami
OCR is the second of seven 2011-2012 ISAF Sailing World Cup regattas and
features elite-level competition in the classes selected for the Olympic and
Paralympic Games. At the close of registration on Sunday, 532 sailors
representing 44 countries had registered.
Among the many international competitors–some with
Olympic berths secured and others still vying for spots on their national
teams–will be Marit Bouwmeester (The Netherlands), who finished 2011 on a high
note by winning both the Laser Radial class at the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing
World Championships and the honor of representing her country in that class at
the Olympics.
Olympic berths secured and others still vying for spots on their national
teams–will be Marit Bouwmeester (The Netherlands), who finished 2011 on a high
note by winning both the Laser Radial class at the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing
World Championships and the honor of representing her country in that class at
the Olympics.
“Everybody has been training really hard the past year,
so I think Rolex Miami OCR will be a tough battle again and it will probably
stay that way until the Games,” said Bouwmeester whose company out on the water
will include fellow podium finishers at the Worlds and Olympic representatives
Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla., USA) and Evi Van Acker (Belgium). (Railey also
is the defending Rolex Miami OCR champion and has won the event four times.)
so I think Rolex Miami OCR will be a tough battle again and it will probably
stay that way until the Games,” said Bouwmeester whose company out on the water
will include fellow podium finishers at the Worlds and Olympic representatives
Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla., USA) and Evi Van Acker (Belgium). (Railey also
is the defending Rolex Miami OCR champion and has won the event four times.)
“It is definitely fun racing against all the good girls,”
said Bouwmeester, adding that 2012 will be her first-ever Olympic experience.
“I always spend two months in Miami and Fort Lauderdale to get my light-wind
training in. Miami is the complete opposite of what I’m used to, so it’s a nice
challenge and a good opportunity to learn.”
said Bouwmeester, adding that 2012 will be her first-ever Olympic experience.
“I always spend two months in Miami and Fort Lauderdale to get my light-wind
training in. Miami is the complete opposite of what I’m used to, so it’s a nice
challenge and a good opportunity to learn.”
With 82 boats registered, the Laser class promises not to
disappoint as the typically largest fleet at the Rolex Miami OCR. With
multiple potential winners embedded in the entry roster, Chris Dold and David
Wright stand out from among 13 Canadian entries that are here to participate in
their Olympic Trials, which started in Perth and will end with the next ISAF
Sailing World Cup regatta (the Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofia MAPFRE) in March.
disappoint as the typically largest fleet at the Rolex Miami OCR. With
multiple potential winners embedded in the entry roster, Chris Dold and David
Wright stand out from among 13 Canadian entries that are here to participate in
their Olympic Trials, which started in Perth and will end with the next ISAF
Sailing World Cup regatta (the Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofia MAPFRE) in March.
“It’s going to be fun to watch these guys fight it out
for their Olympic Trials,” said Rob Crane (Darien, Conn., USA) who is coming
off a jam-packed 2011 schedule that culminated with him winning an Olympic
berth for the U.S. team after pulling off amazing 1-2 finishes on the last
competition day in Perth to beat out his teammates for the spot.
for their Olympic Trials,” said Rob Crane (Darien, Conn., USA) who is coming
off a jam-packed 2011 schedule that culminated with him winning an Olympic
berth for the U.S. team after pulling off amazing 1-2 finishes on the last
competition day in Perth to beat out his teammates for the spot.
“After my own experience in Perth, it will be fun to
watch other people handle that situation,” said Crane. “I train with the
Canadian team a lot, and I’m good friends with all those guys. It’s great to
race against them, but for this regatta their concern is beating out each other
for the Olympic spot.”
watch other people handle that situation,” said Crane. “I train with the
Canadian team a lot, and I’m good friends with all those guys. It’s great to
race against them, but for this regatta their concern is beating out each other
for the Olympic spot.”
The fleet also is densely packed with well-known names
from around the globe such as Alsogaray (ARG) and Bruno Fontes (BRA), as well
as up-and-comers such as Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif., USA).
from around the globe such as Alsogaray (ARG) and Bruno Fontes (BRA), as well
as up-and-comers such as Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif., USA).
Traveling more than halfway around the globe are 2011
World Champions and Australia’s representatives for the Olympic Games in the
470 Men’s class Mathew Belcher and Malcom Page. “After spending the
better part of the decade trying to gain Olympic selection, London will be my
first (Games),” said Belcher, adding that his teammate Malcolm Page crewed (for
skipper Nathan Wilmot) to win an Olympic Gold medal in Beijing (2008).
World Champions and Australia’s representatives for the Olympic Games in the
470 Men’s class Mathew Belcher and Malcom Page. “After spending the
better part of the decade trying to gain Olympic selection, London will be my
first (Games),” said Belcher, adding that his teammate Malcolm Page crewed (for
skipper Nathan Wilmot) to win an Olympic Gold medal in Beijing (2008).
“We have and will be working hard to prepare ourselves to
defend Australia’s Gold from Beijing, and the Rolex Miami OCR 2012 will provide
us with the opportunity to gain high level racing before heading over to
Europe,” said Belcher, who will be going up against some power houses who are
constantly battling each other in the top-ten at international events,
including Olympic-bound Stu McNay (Boston, Mass., USA) with crew Graham Biehl
(San Diego, Calif., USA); Lucas Calabrese with Juan Maria de la Fuente (ARG);
and Matthias Schmid with Florian Reichstaedter (AUT). “We are a little
isolated in Australia and don’t get the level of competition that our
competitors can get access to. For us, it’s important to fly almost 30 hours
and transport our equipment to Miami to compete for only a five-day regatta.
That’s how much we like coming to Miami and how important we think doing this
event is.”
defend Australia’s Gold from Beijing, and the Rolex Miami OCR 2012 will provide
us with the opportunity to gain high level racing before heading over to
Europe,” said Belcher, who will be going up against some power houses who are
constantly battling each other in the top-ten at international events,
including Olympic-bound Stu McNay (Boston, Mass., USA) with crew Graham Biehl
(San Diego, Calif., USA); Lucas Calabrese with Juan Maria de la Fuente (ARG);
and Matthias Schmid with Florian Reichstaedter (AUT). “We are a little
isolated in Australia and don’t get the level of competition that our
competitors can get access to. For us, it’s important to fly almost 30 hours
and transport our equipment to Miami to compete for only a five-day regatta.
That’s how much we like coming to Miami and how important we think doing this
event is.”
Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark (GBR), in the 470 Women’s
class, are always a good run for the money, and after a podium finish in Perth
they will no doubt share in some epic battles against World Champions Lisa
Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout (NED). The USA’s team of Amanda Clark(Shelter
Island Heights, N.Y., USA) and Sarah Lihan Fort Lauderdale, Fla., USA)
edged out USA’s Erin Maxwell and Isabelle Kinsolving Farrar during a
tie-breaker in Perth, which earned them their berth at the Olympic Games.
class, are always a good run for the money, and after a podium finish in Perth
they will no doubt share in some epic battles against World Champions Lisa
Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout (NED). The USA’s team of Amanda Clark(Shelter
Island Heights, N.Y., USA) and Sarah Lihan Fort Lauderdale, Fla., USA)
edged out USA’s Erin Maxwell and Isabelle Kinsolving Farrar during a
tie-breaker in Perth, which earned them their berth at the Olympic Games.
As always, the Star class is shining with world-renowned
champions, and perhaps the best-known names attending are two-time Olympic gold
medalists Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada (BRA), who just wrapped up 2011 with
their second straight title at the Star World Championships (as part of the
ISAF Sailing World Championships in Perth). Though Scheidt and Prada are
used to fleet-topping performances, they also know not to discount the tough
competition that consistently rotates into the top ten at this event, including
Xavier Rohart with crew Pierre Alexis Ponsot (FRA) and Hamish Pepper with Maz
Salminen (SWE). The USA’s Olympic-bound Star sailors Mark Mendelblatt and Brian
Fatih (both Miami, Fla.) also will be in attendance and using their local
knowledge to try to dominate on Biscayne Bay.
champions, and perhaps the best-known names attending are two-time Olympic gold
medalists Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada (BRA), who just wrapped up 2011 with
their second straight title at the Star World Championships (as part of the
ISAF Sailing World Championships in Perth). Though Scheidt and Prada are
used to fleet-topping performances, they also know not to discount the tough
competition that consistently rotates into the top ten at this event, including
Xavier Rohart with crew Pierre Alexis Ponsot (FRA) and Hamish Pepper with Maz
Salminen (SWE). The USA’s Olympic-bound Star sailors Mark Mendelblatt and Brian
Fatih (both Miami, Fla.) also will be in attendance and using their local
knowledge to try to dominate on Biscayne Bay.
Nico Luca Marc Delle Karth and Nikolaus Resch (AUT) are
top players in the 49er fleet, and in Perth, Denmark had a handful of teams in
the medal race, so it doesn’t go unnoticed that Allan Norregaard and crew Peter
Land have thrown their hat into the Rolex Miami OCR ring along with Jonas
Warrer (Denmark’s gold medalist in Beijing) and Seren Hansen. Erik Storck
(Huntington, N.Y., USA) and Trevor Moore (Pomfret, Vt./Naples, Fla., USA) who
were inches away from bronze in Perth, are on an upward spiral and expecting to
accomplish big things at the Rolex Miami OCR. But all is not for the
veterans at this event. U.S. up-and-comers Ryan Pesch (Chicago, Ill.,USA)
and Trevor Burd (Vineyard Haven, Mass. USA), are looking to retain their status
on the US Sailing Development Team, along with Frederick Strammer (Nokomis,
Fla.) and Zachary Brown (Nokomis, Fla., USA), who have been training and living
in Miami for several months and are making a push for the 2016 Olympic Games.
top players in the 49er fleet, and in Perth, Denmark had a handful of teams in
the medal race, so it doesn’t go unnoticed that Allan Norregaard and crew Peter
Land have thrown their hat into the Rolex Miami OCR ring along with Jonas
Warrer (Denmark’s gold medalist in Beijing) and Seren Hansen. Erik Storck
(Huntington, N.Y., USA) and Trevor Moore (Pomfret, Vt./Naples, Fla., USA) who
were inches away from bronze in Perth, are on an upward spiral and expecting to
accomplish big things at the Rolex Miami OCR. But all is not for the
veterans at this event. U.S. up-and-comers Ryan Pesch (Chicago, Ill.,USA)
and Trevor Burd (Vineyard Haven, Mass. USA), are looking to retain their status
on the US Sailing Development Team, along with Frederick Strammer (Nokomis,
Fla.) and Zachary Brown (Nokomis, Fla., USA), who have been training and living
in Miami for several months and are making a push for the 2016 Olympic Games.
In Finn class, the USA’s 2012 Olympic team member Zach
Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) is the front runner and expected to bring back the
gold, but he will have some tough competition from Brendan Casey (AUS) and
fellow US Sailing AlphaGraphics teammate Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif., USA),
who has been posting consistent top-20 finishes as of late.
Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) is the front runner and expected to bring back the
gold, but he will have some tough competition from Brendan Casey (AUS) and
fellow US Sailing AlphaGraphics teammate Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif., USA),
who has been posting consistent top-20 finishes as of late.
In the Men’s and Women’s RS:X classes, the fleets arerelatively small compared to past years, since many of the world’s top
windsurfers chose to bypass the long trip to Miami from the ISAF Worlds in
Perth and go straight to the 2012 RS:X European Windsurfing Championships,
scheduled for February in Portugal, and on to the RS:X World Windsurfing
Championships, scheduled for March in Spain. Last year’s World Cup series
winner Nick Dempsey (GBR) could be all but guaranteed the gold in Men’s, as his
nemesis, Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED), who edged him out for the gold here at
the Rolex Miami OCR in 2011, is missing from the roster. Still,
Dempsey will have to contest the likes of Ahmed Habash (EGY), who is a
four-time National Mistral Champion, and others such as Robert Willis (Chicago,
Ill., USA) whose time has come for shining on the international circuit.
In the Women’s RS:X, Poland and Israel have traditionally been strong, which means
Malgorzata Bialecka (POL) and Maayan Davidovich (ISR) might have the nod, but
the strengths of USA’s Farrah Hall, who won her country’s Trials, cannot go
unpondered. She is working her hardest to polish up for the Worlds, since
it is there that she must qualify her country in order to make her earned spot
on the USA’s Olympic team matter.
windsurfers chose to bypass the long trip to Miami from the ISAF Worlds in
Perth and go straight to the 2012 RS:X European Windsurfing Championships,
scheduled for February in Portugal, and on to the RS:X World Windsurfing
Championships, scheduled for March in Spain. Last year’s World Cup series
winner Nick Dempsey (GBR) could be all but guaranteed the gold in Men’s, as his
nemesis, Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED), who edged him out for the gold here at
the Rolex Miami OCR in 2011, is missing from the roster. Still,
Dempsey will have to contest the likes of Ahmed Habash (EGY), who is a
four-time National Mistral Champion, and others such as Robert Willis (Chicago,
Ill., USA) whose time has come for shining on the international circuit.
In the Women’s RS:X, Poland and Israel have traditionally been strong, which means
Malgorzata Bialecka (POL) and Maayan Davidovich (ISR) might have the nod, but
the strengths of USA’s Farrah Hall, who won her country’s Trials, cannot go
unpondered. She is working her hardest to polish up for the Worlds, since
it is there that she must qualify her country in order to make her earned spot
on the USA’s Olympic team matter.
The newest Olympic class in the Games is Women’s Match
Racing, and at the Rolex Miami OCR it will be a fight between Olivia Price/Nina
Curtis/Lucinda Whitty and Nicky Souter/Jessica Eastwell/Katie Spithill for a
position on Australia’s Olympic team. The country to beat, however, is
most definitely the USA. In fact, during this quadrennium, there has not
been a single World Cup event where the U.S. has not been on the podium.
Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla., USA) /Molly Vandemoer (Stanford,
Calif.) /Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) set the bar high in Perth by taking the
gold, but Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) / Elizabeth Kratzig-Burnham (Miami,
Fla.) / Alana O’Reilly (Charleston, S.C., USA) are proven stars as well.
(Tunnicliffe is the current ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year and Rolex
Yachtswoman of the Year.) France’s Claire Leroy/Elodie Bertrand/Marie
Riou and Great Britain’s Lucy Macgregor/Annie Lush/Kate Macgregor are other
safe bets for finishing in the top five. Talent-wise, match racing is one of
the strongest disciplines, and with 25 teams entered thus far, there are
several more who could go all the way, including Spain’s Tamara Echegoyen/Sofia
Toro/Angela Pumariega and Finland’s Silja Lehtinen/Silja Kanerva/Mikaela Wulff.
Racing, and at the Rolex Miami OCR it will be a fight between Olivia Price/Nina
Curtis/Lucinda Whitty and Nicky Souter/Jessica Eastwell/Katie Spithill for a
position on Australia’s Olympic team. The country to beat, however, is
most definitely the USA. In fact, during this quadrennium, there has not
been a single World Cup event where the U.S. has not been on the podium.
Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla., USA) /Molly Vandemoer (Stanford,
Calif.) /Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) set the bar high in Perth by taking the
gold, but Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) / Elizabeth Kratzig-Burnham (Miami,
Fla.) / Alana O’Reilly (Charleston, S.C., USA) are proven stars as well.
(Tunnicliffe is the current ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year and Rolex
Yachtswoman of the Year.) France’s Claire Leroy/Elodie Bertrand/Marie
Riou and Great Britain’s Lucy Macgregor/Annie Lush/Kate Macgregor are other
safe bets for finishing in the top five. Talent-wise, match racing is one of
the strongest disciplines, and with 25 teams entered thus far, there are
several more who could go all the way, including Spain’s Tamara Echegoyen/Sofia
Toro/Angela Pumariega and Finland’s Silja Lehtinen/Silja Kanerva/Mikaela Wulff.
Fresh off of some fierce Paralympic competition at the
IFDS Worlds, which wrapped up this past weekend in Charlotte Harbor, Fla.,
sailors in the 2.4mR, SKUD-18 and Sonar classes are counting on top Rolex Miami
OCR performances to propel them to the next level.
IFDS Worlds, which wrapped up this past weekend in Charlotte Harbor, Fla.,
sailors in the 2.4mR, SKUD-18 and Sonar classes are counting on top Rolex Miami
OCR performances to propel them to the next level.
The 2.4mR class is 29-boats deep, with already six more
boats attending than were seen at the Worlds, and it will be most interesting
to watch Mark LeBlanc (New Orleans, La., USA), John Ruf (Pewaukee, Wis., USA)
and Charles Rosenfeld (Woodstock, Conn., USA) battle for a berth on the U.S.
team for the 2012 Paralympic Games, which will be determined after the final
race here. Some international names to watch include the top three IFDS podium
finishers: gold medalist and defending Rolex Miami OCR champion Damien Seguin
(FRA), silver medalist Thierry Schmitter (NED) and bronze medalist Paul Tingley
(CAN).
boats attending than were seen at the Worlds, and it will be most interesting
to watch Mark LeBlanc (New Orleans, La., USA), John Ruf (Pewaukee, Wis., USA)
and Charles Rosenfeld (Woodstock, Conn., USA) battle for a berth on the U.S.
team for the 2012 Paralympic Games, which will be determined after the final
race here. Some international names to watch include the top three IFDS podium
finishers: gold medalist and defending Rolex Miami OCR champion Damien Seguin
(FRA), silver medalist Thierry Schmitter (NED) and bronze medalist Paul Tingley
(CAN).
As is the case for the U.S. in 2.4mRs, so too is it that
the Rolex Miami OCR serves as the second part of the SKUD and Sonar Paralympic
Team Trials, where sailors keep their overall finish from the IFDS Worlds and
combine it with their overall finish here to determine who gets the Paralympic
berth. Duking it out in SKUD class will be Jennifer French (St.
Petersburg, Fla., USA) and Jean-Paul Creignou (St. Petersburg, Fla., USA), who
took the silver medal at the Worlds, and three-time Rolex Miami OCR defending
champions Scott Whitman (Brick, N.J.) and Julia Dorsett (Boca Raton, Fla.).
With only seven boats in the fleet (there were eight at the
Worlds), including the World Champions Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell
(GBR), there will be pressure-cooker emphasis on putting boats between
themselves and the competition.
the Rolex Miami OCR serves as the second part of the SKUD and Sonar Paralympic
Team Trials, where sailors keep their overall finish from the IFDS Worlds and
combine it with their overall finish here to determine who gets the Paralympic
berth. Duking it out in SKUD class will be Jennifer French (St.
Petersburg, Fla., USA) and Jean-Paul Creignou (St. Petersburg, Fla., USA), who
took the silver medal at the Worlds, and three-time Rolex Miami OCR defending
champions Scott Whitman (Brick, N.J.) and Julia Dorsett (Boca Raton, Fla.).
With only seven boats in the fleet (there were eight at the
Worlds), including the World Champions Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell
(GBR), there will be pressure-cooker emphasis on putting boats between
themselves and the competition.
Having just won bronze at the Worlds, Rolex Miami OCR
defending champions John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas (GBR) are
favored in the Sonar class. John Twomey (IRE) also has made a name for
himself in this class as has Udo Hessels, Marcel van de Veen and Mischa Rossen
(all FRA), and all four American teams competing will have to step up their
game to successfully juggle toppling these hard-hitters as they go at it hard
to secure an Olympic berth.
defending champions John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas (GBR) are
favored in the Sonar class. John Twomey (IRE) also has made a name for
himself in this class as has Udo Hessels, Marcel van de Veen and Mischa Rossen
(all FRA), and all four American teams competing will have to step up their
game to successfully juggle toppling these hard-hitters as they go at it hard
to secure an Olympic berth.
US Sailing’s Rolex Miami OCR, established in 1990, is
open to boats competing in events chosen for the Olympic and Paralympic Sailing
Competitions. The 10 Olympic classes for 2012 are: Laser Radial (women), Laser
(men), Finn (men), Men’s RS:X, Women’s RS:X, 49er (men), Men’s 470, Women’s
470, Star (men) and Elliot 6m (women). The three Paralympic classes are: 2.4mR
(open), SKUD (mixed) and Sonar (mixed).
open to boats competing in events chosen for the Olympic and Paralympic Sailing
Competitions. The 10 Olympic classes for 2012 are: Laser Radial (women), Laser
(men), Finn (men), Men’s RS:X, Women’s RS:X, 49er (men), Men’s 470, Women’s
470, Star (men) and Elliot 6m (women). The three Paralympic classes are: 2.4mR
(open), SKUD (mixed) and Sonar (mixed).
For fleet racing in the Olympic classes, the Rolex Miami
OCR will consist of a five-day opening series (Monday – Friday) and a
double-point medal race (Saturday). The top 10 finishers in the opening series
of each class will advance to the medal race. For match racing (Elliott 6m),
which makes its debut in the 2012 Olympic Games, the regatta will consist of an
opening series, a knockout series, and a sail-off for boats not advancing to
the knockout series. Competitors in the Paralympic classes will have five
days of fleet racing (Monday-Friday) and no medal race.
OCR will consist of a five-day opening series (Monday – Friday) and a
double-point medal race (Saturday). The top 10 finishers in the opening series
of each class will advance to the medal race. For match racing (Elliott 6m),
which makes its debut in the 2012 Olympic Games, the regatta will consist of an
opening series, a knockout series, and a sail-off for boats not advancing to
the knockout series. Competitors in the Paralympic classes will have five
days of fleet racing (Monday-Friday) and no medal race.
Medals will be awarded to the top three boats in each
Olympic and Paralympic class on Saturday, January 28.
Olympic and Paralympic class on Saturday, January 28.
Regatta Headquarters will be located at the US Sailing
Center Miami, an official Olympic training center, in the Coconut Grove section
of Miami, Fla. Event organizers have partnered with the city of Miami to
provide world-class venues for competition. Additional hosts for the event
include Coral Reef Yacht Club, Key Biscayne Yacht Club, Coconut Grove Sailing
Club, Miami Rowing Club and Shake-a-Leg Miami. These sailing organizations host
classes onshore, as well as help run the on-the-water racing. The Coral Reef
Yacht Club also hosts the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
Center Miami, an official Olympic training center, in the Coconut Grove section
of Miami, Fla. Event organizers have partnered with the city of Miami to
provide world-class venues for competition. Additional hosts for the event
include Coral Reef Yacht Club, Key Biscayne Yacht Club, Coconut Grove Sailing
Club, Miami Rowing Club and Shake-a-Leg Miami. These sailing organizations host
classes onshore, as well as help run the on-the-water racing. The Coral Reef
Yacht Club also hosts the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
The event’s website http://rmocr.ussailing.org is where
In addition to title sponsor Rolex Watch U.S.A., the 2012
Rolex Miami OCR is also sponsored by AlphaGraphics, Sperry Top-Sider, Harken
McLube, Kattack, Gowrie-Chubb, and the University of Miami Hospital.
Rolex Miami OCR is also sponsored by AlphaGraphics, Sperry Top-Sider, Harken
McLube, Kattack, Gowrie-Chubb, and the University of Miami Hospital.
About the ISAF Sailing World Cup
Sailors accrue points at each of the seven ISAF Sailing
World Cup events to earn an overall Series Score. First place translates into
20 points, second place earns 19 points and so on. (Twentieth place earns one
point.) The skipper/crew with the highest Series Score at the end of the season
wins the ISAF Sailing World Cup Trophy. Find out more about the ISAF Sailing
World Cup, overall standings, the scoring system and the Notice of Series at
www.sailing.org/isafsailingworldcup.
World Cup events to earn an overall Series Score. First place translates into
20 points, second place earns 19 points and so on. (Twentieth place earns one
point.) The skipper/crew with the highest Series Score at the end of the season
wins the ISAF Sailing World Cup Trophy. Find out more about the ISAF Sailing
World Cup, overall standings, the scoring system and the Notice of Series at
www.sailing.org/isafsailingworldcup.
About Rolex Watch U.S.A., Inc.
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 supporting the US Sailing Team, US Sailing championships, disabled
sailing, and offshore, one-design and women’s events. In 2012, Rolex will
sponsor over 20 prestigious yachting events globally, including the Maxi Yacht
Rolex Cup, Rolex Big Boat Series, Rolex Capri Sailing Week, Rolex Farr 40 World
Championship, Rolex Fastnet Race, and Rolex Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race.
America’s Cup defenders in 1958, the company has
consistently recognized and
encouraged excellence in every important arena of competitive sailing,
including supporting the US Sailing Team, US Sailing championships, disabled
sailing, and offshore, one-design and women’s events. In 2012, Rolex will
sponsor over 20 prestigious yachting events globally, including the Maxi Yacht
Rolex Cup, Rolex Big Boat Series, Rolex Capri Sailing Week, Rolex Farr 40 World
Championship, Rolex Fastnet Race, and Rolex Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race.
About US Sailing
