Both experienced and untested U.S. boats excel in unpredictable Miami

by Will Ricketson on 27 Jan 2017 World Cup Series Miami 2017, Presented by Sunbrella (January 22-29, 2017) saw shifty conditions return to Biscayne Bay, but the world-renowned sailing venue nevertheless yielded up a full day of exciting racing. Americans are battling inside the top ten overall in seven of ten Olympic classes, with one more day of full-fleet action on Friday before the medal races take place on Saturday and Sunday. Friday will also see the opening of the Regatta Park Fan Zone in Coconut Grove, Miami, which will bring world-class sailing to spectators on shore via a large video screen and expert commentary.

On Thursday, Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.) moved up to second place overall after winning the day with scores of three, one in the Men’s 470 fleet. “It was a gradient-type breeze battling the typical sea breeze (out on the racecourse), and that produced big shifts back and forth,” said McNay, a three-time Olympian who has won this event twice since teaming up with Hughes in late 2012. “Miami never ceases to keep things fresh by delivering unexpected conditions,” added McNay. The Americans are locked in a close battle for the overall lead with Rio 2016 bronze medalists Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis of Greece.

In the Men’s Laser, U.S. Olympian Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) had a second consecutive day of quality results, and advanced from sixth overall to fourth in the deep 59-boat fleet. “I got a couple keepers today, even though the second race in particular was a bit crazy,” said the two-time College Sailor of the Year. “It got a bit haywire out there, and I had to fight back a few times.”

In the Nacra 17, Olympian Louisa Chafee (Warwick, R.I.) and helmsman Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, Calif.) notched a victory in the first of three races today, and kept their place inside the top ten overall. “On the race we won, Riley did a great job of noticing the (wind) pressure out on the left side of the first leg,” said Chafee. “We went pretty hard in that direction, and it paid off. We’ve only just reached double digits in terms of days sailing together, but we’re really happy with how it’s going, and we’re having fun.” Gibbs and Chafee are in sixth place overall after eight races in the two-person mixed multihull class.

In the Men’s 49er fleet, another new American team excelled in shifty breeze conditions on day three. David Liebenberg (Livermore, Calif.) and Ian MacDiarmid (Delray Beach, Fla.) recorded scores of three, five, two and shot up to ninth overall. “We were trying to focus on having our heads ‘out of the boat’ more, and sailing to the pressure we saw,” said Liebenberg. “Before this, we’d been focusing on speed and missing the shifts we needed to catch. Today, we tried to be proactive on the racecourse. For the three weeks we’ve been together, we’ve been working hard, including attending a US Sailing Team training camp here in Miami. That definitely helped today.”



Notable US Standings: Day 3

Men’s 470:

• 2nd overall, Stu McNay (Providence, R.I., Rio 2016 U.S. Olympian) and Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla., Rio 2016 U.S. Olympian)

Men’s Laser:

• 4th overall, Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif., Rio 2016 Olympian)

Men’s Finn:

• 5th overall, Luke Muller (Ft. Pierce, Fla.)

Nacra 17:

• 6th overall, Louisa Chafee (Warwick, R.I., Rio 2016 U.S. Olympian) sailing with Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, Calif.)

Women’s Laser Radial:

• 6th overall, Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)

Men’s 49er:

• 9th overall, David Liebenburg (Livermore, Calif.) and Ian MacDiarmid (Delray Beach, Fla.)

Women’s 470:

• 10th overall, Atlantic Brugman (Palo Alto, Calif.) and Nora Brugman (Palo Alto, Calif.)

Women’s 49erFX:

• 13th overall, Steph Roble (East Troy, Wisc.) and Maggie Shea (Chicago, Ill.)

Women’s RS:X:

• 18th overall, Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md., London 2012 U.S. Olympian)

Men’s RS:X:

• 26th overall, Pedro Pascual (West Palm Beach, Fla., Rio 2016 U.S. Olympian)