ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami 2013 - Americans still strong mid-point

by Dana Paxton on 31 Jan 2013 The ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami 2013 has reached its midpoint with USA sailors still standing in good form among the 12 Olympic and Paralympic classes competing. Americans lead four fleets: Caleb Paine (Finn); Fred Strammer and Zach Brown (49er); Sarah Newberry and John Casey (Nacra 17); and Stuart McNay and David Hughes (Men’s 470). The regatta serves as the selection event for 2013 US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider, in all classes except for Skud-18 and Nacra 17, as well as for the 2013 US Sailing Development Team.

Nacra 17 – Four American teams lead the standings in the multihull fleet. Topping the scoreboard in first through fourth place, respectively, are: Sarah Newberry (Miami, Fla.) and John Casey (Longwood, Fla.); Sarah Streater (Flagler Beach, Fla.) and Matthew Whitehead (Panama City, Fla.); Taylor Reiss and Sarah Lihan (New York, N.Y.); and Sandra Tartaglino (Long Beach, Calif.) and Jonathan Farrar (Boston, Mass.). Newberry and Casey had another near-perfect day, winning both races and extending their lead on the fleet.

RS:X Men’s and Women’s – With the U.S. windsurfing emerging talent showing their form at this regatta, it is Carson Crain (Houston, Texas) and Marion Lepert (Belmont, Calif.) in the top spots for each fleet. Crain and Lepert have tough competition with London 2012 gold medalists Dorian van Rijssbelberghe (NED) and Marina Alabau (ESP) among the competitors.

'The event so far has been positive, except I had my mast break on the first day,' said Crain. 'Besides that everything has been really good, lots of good, positive moments from today’s racing. Crain then went on to explain that switching from a Laser to a RS:X is all about learning. 'This Olympic quad is about developing my skills and then eventually getting to the point where I’m comfortable and can be competitive in the top of the fleet.'

Listen to Crain, along with RS:X sailor Margot Samson, talk about their experience in windsurfing:

49er – Americans Fred Strammer (Nokomis, Fla.) and Zach Brown (San Diego, Calif.) continued to amass their lead on the 16-boat class. They won two races and didn’t complete the final race due to a wipeout and broken mast. The duo, who are members of the US Sailing Development Team, will aim to be race ready for Thursday’s racing. USA’s Ryan Pesch (Vineyard Haven, Mass.) and Trevor Burd (Marblehead, Mass.) are in third, but tied on points (26) with Sweden’s Sebastian Oestling and Kalle Torlen.

Quotes from American sailors:

Nikki Medley who sails with Lara Dalman-Weis, 470 – 'Our performance is phenomenal. The gains we’re making, the improvements, and the way we’re sailing is really coming together. However, it’s not quite showing yet in our results. So, hopefully that will come by the end of the event, but right now we’re really happy with how we’re improving as a team.'
Dalman-Weis on the new partnership: 'I called Nikki up one day and we started throwing ideas together. We decided to go for it and come to OCR. We’re having a blast and really enjoying it.'

Listen to the full interview: Miami Nikki Medley

Margot Samson, RS:X – 'I love windsurfing. I love the speed and tactics, and athleticism. It’s got a little bit of everything and really a lot of fun. It’s a great honor to be part of the Development Team and get all of the support and attention from US Sailing.'

In other classes, the top American sailors/teams include:

First, 470 Men - Stuart McNay (Providence, R.I.) and Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.)
First, Finn - Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.)
Third, Sonar - Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), Brad Kendell (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Hugh Freund (Boston, Mass.)
Second, Radial - Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.)
Fourth, 49er FX - Anna Tunnicliffe (Miami, Fla.) and Molly Vandemoer (Stanford, Calif.)
Fourth, 470 Women - Anne Haeger (East Troy, Wis.) and Briana Provancha (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Fourth, Laser - Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.)