ISAF Sailing Worlds, Santander - Buckingham into Laser Medal Race

by Will Ricketson on 18 Sep 2014 Gold fleet competition at the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championship concluded in the Men's Laser and Women's Laser Radial classes, and the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider's Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) will represent the United States in tomorrow's medal race. American 470's also continued their strong showing in a day that saw conditions range from 25 knots of breeze in the morning to dead-calm in the afternoon in beautiful but ever-unpredictable Santander.

Buckingham enters Thursday's Men's Laser medal race having already secured a career-best finish at the World Championship. With 55 net points, Buckingham is 12 points from bronze medal position. 'I'm really excited for the medal race tomorrow,' said Buckingham. 'I've met my goal for the event and I'm going to go out and have fun tomorrow.' Currently one point behind Buckingham in sixth overall is perhaps the most accomplished Laser sailor in history, 9-time Laser World Champion and 5-time Olympic medalist Robert Scheidt of Brazil. By earning a berth in the 10-boat medal race, Buckingham has entered elite company, and will get a chance tomorrow to further cement his position among the world's best. 'My coach Mark Littlejohn and I made a plan one year ago, and we've worked really hard since then,' said the 2-time US College Sailor of the Year and 4-time All-American. 'It's rewarding to see the dividends here.'

Chris Barnard (Newport Beach, Calif.) entered day six in eighth overall and with a shot at the medal race, but his toughest race of the event saw him fall to 15th overall, concluding his regatta. Nevertheless, the week saw Barnard announce his presence as a contender in one of Olympic sailing's deepest classes. 'It definitely my best event so far,' said Barnard. 'It's great to put in my best performance at the biggest event of the year. I was really happy with my boat speed, and how we put a lot of attention into game planning. It's tough to fall out of the medal race, but I'm stoked about the week.' The 147-boat Men's Laser fleet was the largest in Santander.

Wednesday proved to be a difficult day on the water for Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), who scored a mid-fleet finish to knock her from eighth to 14th overall, just outside of a medal race berth. The Laser Radial Youth World Champion and 2012 US Olympic Team Trials runner-up had an outstanding week on the water, where she won the first race and peaked in 6th overall. However, a bright spot was Reineke's success in qualifying the USA for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the Laser Radial class by virtue of her strong performance in Santander. Country qualification is a critical milestone for Reineke and all American Laser Radial athletes campaigning for The Games.

In the Men's 49er class, Brad Funk (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and Trevor Burd (Marblehead, Mass.) moved up from fourth to third overall after an impressive day, finishing fifth in both races. 'We were just able to stay in phase with the wind, and take our opportunities,' said Burd. 'Brad did a great job of seeing the breeze and just sailing through the fleet, sometimes going against the grain.' Funk and Burd qualified for gold fleet, which begins racing tomorrow.

In the Men's 470, Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and David Hughes (San Diego, Calif.) saw their winning streak end, but by recording a solid 12th place finish in Wednesday's only race, they continue to build a formidable scoreline. With only two net points (thanks to a discardable race score that comes into play after three races) and 14 total points, the veteran US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider athletes lead a deep 73-boat fleet.

Gold fleet action in the Women's 470 fleet saw Annie Haeger (East Troy, Wisc.) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.) stay in the hunt for the podium with a seventh in Race 7. As with the men's fleet, only one race was completed. 'We were trying to amp ourselves up for big breeze conditions, but actually when we got out there it was kinda light,' said Haeger. 'We didn't do a good job transitioning into that mode, so we struggled a little bit with technique. We had a really good last downwind, and ended up with 'a keeper,' I would say.' While remaining in sixth overall, Haeger and Provancha remain very close to the top in terms of points. The pair are only two points out of third, and 10 points out of the lead. 'A lot of girls have been super consistent over the course of this event,' added the Wisconsin native. 'We've got to quit losing points out there. Here we go, game on!'

Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.) finally completed more races along with the rest of the Finn fleet, and the ISAF Sailing World Cup Champion (2011-2012) scored two single-digit scores with a 6,15,3. While Paine sits in 18th overall, a crowded points situation means that Paine is only seven points from the top 10, and in great position to move up the leaderboard as the regatta progresses.

Notable US Results, Overall:

470 Men (73 boats):

• 1st, Stuart McNay and David Hughes, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider

Laser Men (147 boats):

• 5th, Charlie Buckingham, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider
• 15th, Chris Barnard, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider

Laser Radial Women (120 boats):

• 14th, Erika Reineke, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider

470 Women (54 boats):

• 6th, Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider

49er Men (40 boats raced on Day 4, 80 total boats):

• 3rd, Brad Funk and Trevor Burd, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider

Nacra 17 (67 boats):

• 13th, (no racing on Day 6) Sarah Newberry and John Casey, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider

Finn (78 boats):

• 18th, Caleb Paine, US Sailing Team Sperry Event website