ISAF Sailing Worlds, Santander - Erika Reineke claims Radial race win
by Will Ricketson on 13 Sep 2014
Erika Reineke, Laser Radial - 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships, Santander Day 1 Mick Anderson / Sailingpix.dk
http://sailingpix.photoshelter.com/
After over a year of planning and preparation, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider athletes began racing at the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Santander, Spain. The only two classes to have races scheduled on day one were the Men’s Laser and Women’s Laser Radial, and a young and talented group of American sailors enjoyed a strong showing.
ISAF Youth World Champion Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) wasted no time in demonstrating her considerable skills, as she won a light and difficult first race in the Laser Radial fleet. '[Coach Luther Carpenter] and I were good about doing our homework before the start,' said Reineke. 'We looked at the wind and compass readings, and analyzed the current. [We also] did a bunch of warmups before the start and accelerations. I think it gave me confidence to go out and try to do the best I could that race.' Reineke, who finished sixth overall at last month’s highly competitive Rio de Janeiro Olympic Test Event, is steadily proving that she belongs at the top end of the international fleet. 'I was really happy with my boat speed today, so I guess you could say I felt strong [in the light conditions].' Regarding her overall strategy, the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider athlete noted that it was important not to take too many big risks early in the event. '[We were] just being conservative today. If you happen to get the '1' while being conservative, I’ll take it!' While the second race of the day proved to be more of a challenge, Reineke currently sits in 28th overall out of 120 competitors. ICSA Collegiate Singlehanded National Champion Claire Dennis (San Francisco, Calif.) is just behind in 32nd.
On the men’s side, the most consistent US performance of the day was delivered by the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider’s Chris Barnard (Newport Beach, Calif.), who recorded a 7,11 scoreline. 'It's a really short qualifying series, only two days and four races, so I knew I needed to come out of the gate hot,' said the ICSA College Sailor of the Year. 'It was a balance of getting solid finishes and being aggressive so I could get into the top group.' Barnard also noted that the first day of a high-profile event typically brings with it an unusually charged atmosphere on the water. 'You could tell on the line that everyone was a bit hesitant or nervous, and people seemed a little bit bow-back today. I knew success for the day would come down to getting off the line clean and using my boatspeed.' Barnard is currently in 19th overall in a fleet of 147 Lasers.
The best single-race performance by an American Laser sailor was in Race 2, when US Sailing Development Team athlete Erik Bowers (Excelsior, Minn.) took third. 'I feel like I have much better speed this year, especially upwind and off the starting line,' said Bowers. 'Another big difference from the 2013 Worlds is that I’ve been working to better understand the wind and weather conditions.'
The top American at the previous two Laser World Championships, the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider’s Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) started the day with a sixth, and then took a 23rd in race two. 'It was light and tricky today, with a lot of current,' said Buckingham. 'With the short qualifying series, there is a little added pressure not to make any huge errors.'
The qualifying series for both the Laser and Laser Radial fleets will conclude on Saturday, September 13, after which the fleets will split into gold, silver and (in the Laser) bronze divisions. Saturday will also mark the start of racing in the RS:X windsurfing events at the ISAF Sailing World Championships.
Laser Men Overall Results:
Pos
|
Nation
|
Sail Number
|
Crew
|
Race
|
Points
|
1
|
2
|
Total
|
Net
|
1
|
GUA
|
GUA 204113
|
Juan Ignacio Maegli Aguero
|
3
|
1
|
4.00
|
4.00
|
2
|
AUS
|
AUS 199012
|
Tom Burton
|
5
|
3
|
8.00
|
8.00
|
3
|
AUS
|
AUS 199015
|
Matthew Wearn
|
7
|
2
|
9.00
|
9.00
|
4
|
ITA
|
ITA 188953
|
Giovanni Coccoluto
|
1
|
9
|
10.00
|
10.00
|
5
|
BRA
|
BRA 206757
|
Bruno Fontes
|
4
|
7
|
11.00
|
11.00
|
6
|
NED
|
NED 204566
|
Nicholas Heiner
|
3
|
10
|
13.00
|
13.00
|
7
|
AUS
|
AUS 206019
|
Ryan Palk
|
5
|
9
|
14.00
|
14.00
|
8
|
NED
|
NED 206745
|
Rutger van Schaardenburg
|
14
|
1
|
15.00
|
15.00
|
9
|
BRA
|
BRA 206755
|
Robert Scheidt
|
13
|
2
|
15.00
|
15.00
|
10
|
CAN
|
CAN 197120
|
Lee Parkhill
|
8
|
7
|
15.00
|
15.00
|
11
|
NOR
|
NOR 204758
|
Kristian Ruth
|
15
|
1
|
16.00
|
16.00
|
12
|
GBR
|
GBR 206940
|
Lorenzo Chiavarini
|
2
|
14
|
16.00
|
16.00
|
13
|
GER
|
GER 207457
|
Tobias Schadewaldt
|
3
|
13
|
16.00
|
16.00
|
14
|
SWE
|
SWE 1996173
|
Jesper Stalheim
|
12
|
4
|
16.00
|
16.00
|
15
|
NZL
|
NZL 197250
|
Thomas Saunders
|
11
|
5
|
16.00
|
16.00
|
16
|
GER
|
GER 207189
|
Philipp Buhl
|
15
|
2
|
17.00
|
17.00
|
17
|
NZL
|
NZL 196871
|
Sam Meech
|
12
|
6
|
18.00
|
18.00
|
18
|
CRO
|
CRO 204731
|
Tonci Stipanovic
|
6
|
12
|
18.00
|
18.00
|
19
|
USA
|
USA 194180
|
Christopher Barnard
|
7
|
11
|
18.00
|
18.00
|
20
|
GER
|
GER 206231
|
Theodor Bauer
|
10
|
8
|
18.00
|
18.00
|
Laser Radial Overall Results
Pos
|
Nation
|
Sail Number
|
Crew
|
Race
|
Points
|
1
|
2
|
Total
|
Net
|
1
|
CZE
|
CZE 207167
|
Veronika Kozelska Fenclova
|
3
|
1
|
4.00
|
4.00
|
2
|
CHN
|
CHN 200041
|
Min Gu
|
4
|
2
|
6.00
|
6.00
|
3
|
BEL
|
BEL 207177
|
Emma Plasschaert
|
2
|
5
|
7.00
|
7.00
|
4
|
NED
|
NED 206333
|
Marit Bouwmeester
|
8
|
1
|
9.00
|
9.00
|
5
|
CHN
|
CHN 201213
|
Dongshuang Zhang
|
5
|
4
|
9.00
|
9.00
|
6
|
LTU
|
LTU 202781
|
Viktorija Andrulyte
|
11
|
3
|
14.00
|
14.00
|
7
|
ITA
|
ITA 206452
|
Joyce Floridia
|
5
|
9
|
14.00
|
14.00
|
8
|
GBR
|
GBR 206363
|
Chloe Martin
|
10
|
6
|
16.00
|
16.00
|
9
|
SWE
|
SWE 202659
|
Josefin Olsson
|
2
|
16
|
18.00
|
18.00
|
10
|
GER
|
GER 205277
|
Svenja Weger
|
12
|
6
|
18.00
|
18.00
|
11
|
ITA
|
ITA 206464
|
Silvia Zennaro
|
16
|
3
|
19.00
|
19.00
|
12
|
PER
|
PER 182332
|
Paloma Schmidt
|
11
|
8
|
19.00
|
19.00
|
13
|
CRO
|
CRO 199082
|
Tina Mihelic
|
10
|
9
|
19.00
|
19.00
|
14
|
NOR
|
NOR 204904
|
Marthe Eide
|
16
|
5
|
21.00
|
21.00
|
15
|
DEN
|
DEN 207194
|
Anne-Marie Rindom
|
14
|
7
|
21.00
|
21.00
|
16
|
FIN
|
FIN 202670
|
Tuula Tenkanen
|
20
|
2
|
22.00
|
22.00
|
17
|
BEL
|
BEL 207179
|
Evi Van Acker
|
15
|
7
|
22.00
|
22.00
|
18
|
FRA
|
FRA 204062
|
Pernelle Michon
|
8
|
17
|
25.00
|
25.00
|
19
|
GBR
|
GBR 206251
|
Alison Young
|
13
|
12
|
25.00
|
25.00
|
20
|
NZL
|
NZL 202441
|
Sara Winther
|
7
|
19
|
26.00
|
26.00
|
http://goo.gl/0nE3Nl" target="_blank">Click here for full results.
If you want to link to this article then please use this URL: www.sail-world.com/126589