London 2012 Olympics - Strong results from U.S. sailors

by Dana Paxton on 5 Aug 2012 At the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition, it was ladies day for the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team, where strong results were turned in by Amanda Clark and Sarah Lihan in the Women’s 470; Anna Tunnicliffe, Molly Vandemoer and Debbie Capozzi in Women’s Match Racing; and Paige Railey in Laser Radial. Today was a scheduled reserve day for Star and 49er classes.

In the Women’s One Person Dinghy (Laser Radial), Paige Railey finished the final two races in ninth and eighth, respectively. With an overall standing of ninth overall, she advances to the medal race scheduled for Aug. 6 on the Nothe Course. 'I’m looking forward to it,' said Railey. 'I would like to redeem myself on that course. I am going to enjoy sailing and try my hardest. It’s cool. I’m out there sailing with my American flag representing my country. It’s great to be out there and say ‘here I am sailing for all of you.’’

Railey came into the event with a goal of medaling. With her current score of 92 points, it is not possible to achieve that goal. Overall, her take on the event is positive. 'Yesterday was a really tough day for me,' she said. 'It’s been nice to be out on the water and spend time with my coach, but it would have been great if my results were better. I think our approach to this event was really good.'

The fleet has a reserve day on Aug. 5.

In Women’s Match Racing, Anna Tunnicliffe, Molly Vandemoer and Debbie Capozzi won their two final matches in the round robin against Sweden and Great Britain. With a win-loss record of 8-3, they advance to the quarter finals.

'The girls sailed great on a tricky course and we came in with two wins,' said Tunnicliffe after racing. The final match against GBR was billed as the ‘match of the day’ by local TV broadcasters. 'We had a really good race with them,' she said of the Brits. 'It was quite close all the way around the race course; just really picking the shifts. Right at the top we were able to extend away and get a length and a half lead. It got a little scary on the last downwind. We split our ways and then when we came together we were a length ahead. We were able to play the shifts and keep our lead. It was very clean sailing today.'

Although the scores to date do not carry through and the team will start with a clean slate in the next round, Tunnicliffe explained that their 8-3 record doesn’t reflect the true nature of the round robin for the team. 'We got off to an unfortunate start. We weren’t ever sailing terribly. We got caught on a mark in one race and lost another by six inches. The whole event we have been sailing well, and now we’re looking forward to the quarter finals.'

Women’s match racing is held on the Nothe Course, which is overlooked by the spectator area. 'We saw our family before racing as we sailed out and we heard them while we were racing,' said Tunnicliffe.

Racing in the quarter-final round, where USA will meet Finland, takes place on Aug. 7. August 5-6 are scheduled reserve days.



In men’s one person dinghy event (Laser), Rob Crane finished the Olympic Sailing Regatta in 29th overall. Scores from Saturday’s final two races were 33rd and 44th in the fleet of 49 competitors.

'It’s an incredible experience to come to the Olympics and represent the U.S.,' said Crane. 'I think I’ve worked as hard as I can. I’m not too happy with the end result, but I definitely put in a lot of work.'

In the men’s two person dinghy (Men’s 470), Stuart McNay and Graham Biehl had a struggle of a day on the Weymouth Bay South course, finishing 23rd and 24th, respectively, in the race 5 and 6. They are 19th overall in the 27-boat fleet.

The 10-race series continues through Aug. 7, with a scheduled reserve day on Aug. 5 and the medal race scheduled for Aug. 9.

Women’s Two Person Dinghy (Women’s 470) duo Amanda Clark and crew Sarah Lihan added two more strong finishes of fifth and seventh. Racing was held on the South Course, held on Weymouth Bay.

They are in fourth overall in the 20-boat fleet, only seven points from first place.

The 10-race series continues through Aug. 8 with the medal race scheduled for Aug. 10.

Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.) collected results of 23rd in race 7 and 27th for an OCS (on-course side or starting the race early, a penalty equal on points to the total number of competitors) in race 8 in women’s windsurfing.

After eight races held in relatively strong conditions, Hall explained that she has struggled in the breeze.

'This isn’t my strong condition,' she said. 'We have had windy conditions every day. It is the most fun conditions and I’m having fun every day. Every race I’ve made one or two mistakes and that can cost you places, whether it’s a bad start or a bad tack. Otherwise I’m pretty confident with my speed or maneuvers. It’s not been a total disaster, but it’s slightly disappointing.'

Hall is currently in 22nd overall. Racing continues Aug. 5.

Bob Willis continued to accrue scores in the Men’s Windsurfing event, with scores of 24th and 33rd. He is now in 22nd overall in the 38-competitor fleet.

Aug. 5 will see racing continue in 49er, Women’s 470, Men’s and Women’s Windsurfing, and the medal race for the Star class scheduled for 1300 BST on the Nothe Course. It is a scheduled reserve day for Men’s 470, Laser and Laser Radial, before the medal race on Aug. 6.

Event results to date:

12th, Finn (Men’s One Person Dinghy Heavy), Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) 10-15-13-17-2-8-11-8-12-19 (completed Aug 3)

Overall standings to date:

Women’s Match Racing, Eight wins, three losses, Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.), Molly Vandemoer (Stanford, Calif.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) – advances to quarter-final round
19th, Men’s 470, Stuart McNay (Boston, Mass.) and Graham Biehl (San Diego, Calif.) 17-22-10-3-23-24
Fourth, Women’s 470, Amanda Clark (Shelter Island, N.Y.) and Sarah Lihan (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 7-3-5-7
Ninth, Laser Radial, Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) 8-5-12-17-4-9-[21]-20-9-8
29th, Laser, Rob Crane (Darien, Conn.) 35-42-30-28-16-32-19-8-33-(44)
22nd, Women’s RS:X Windsurfing, Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.) 22-18-18-18-20-22-23-27[OCS]
22th, RS:X Windsurfing, Bob Willis (Chicago, Ill.) 7-10-11-25-BFD-28-24-33
*Sixth, Star (Men’s Keelboat), Mark Mendelblatt and Brian Fatih (both Miami, Fla.) 5-14-5-3-8-9-5-10-3-11
*10th, 49er, Erik Storck (Huntington, N.Y.) and Trevor Moore (Naples, Fla./N. Pomfret, Vt.) 6-10-16-1-7-13-[20]-18-2-17-5

*49er and Star did not race on Aug. 4
**BFD is black flag penalty

http://olympics.ussailing.org/