Para Worlds - USA Sonar moves into lead after four races

by Will Ricketson on 26 May 2016 2016 Para World Sailing Championships - Racing is complete on day two of the 2016 Para World Sailing Championships (May 24-28), an event running in tandem this year with the Delta Lloyd Regatta. The US Sailing Team Sperry Sonar team now sits atop the fleet, and the SKUD-18 Rio 2016 selection battle continued to take shape in Tuesday’s light air.

Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), Brad Kendell (Tampa, Fla.) and Hugh Freund (South Freeport, Maine) have taken the overall lead in the Sonar class after four races, sitting two points clear of the top British team, and three ahead of the Germans. “We really had great boat handling today, and we were changing gears like nobody’s business as the conditions evolved,” said Doerr, the helmsman. “We are really pleased with how today went, and hope to keep it going tomorrow.” Crew work was also a key part of the team’s success on day two, which saw the trio earn scores of three, one. “We also were very aggressive in our weight placement and boat handling, with Hugh and I moving around constantly,” said Kendell.

The Rio 2016 selection series for the SKUD-18 will conclude here in Medemblik, and so far Sarah Everhart-Skeels (Tiverton, R.I.) and Cindy Walker (Middletown, R.I.) have the lead. The Rhode Island pair, who are also the world’s only all-female SKUD-18 team, have scored four mid-fleet finishes and stand in eighth overall. “We had some frustration today because we were winning the first race, which was cancelled,” said Walker. “After that, it was hard to stay on track, since the breeze kept petering out. We know and the fleet knows that we can be really good when we connect all of our good moments together and sail the way we know we can.”

Ryan Porteous (San Diego, Calif.) and Beijing 2008 SKUD-18 gold medalist Maureen McKinnon (Marblehead, Mass.) have had a slow start to their event due to equipment breakdowns on Tuesday, but had a slightly improved day on Wednesday with a 14,8. McKinnon and Porteous current sit in 12th overall, and need to finish no worse than one spot behind Everhart-Skeels and Walker to win Rio 2016 selection at the end of the event.

2.4mR Dee Smith (Annapolis, Md.) also suffered boat damage and missed races on a breezy day one, but a frenzied overnight repair job succeeded in getting him back out on to the water on Wednesday. Smith’s highlight of the day was a fourth in race three, and he will enter Thursday in 23rd overall.

The 2016 Para World Sailing Championships (May 24-28) will continue until Saturday in Medemblik, The Netherlands.

US Results: 2016 Para World Sailing Championships:

Sonar (Paralympic Three-Person Keelboat)

• 1st overall, Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), Brad Kendell (Tampa, Fla.) and Hugh Freund (South Freeport, Maine), U.S. Paralympic Team & US Sailing Team Sperry (national team)

SKUD-18 (Paralympic Two-Person Keelboat)

• 8th overall, Sarah Everhart-Skeels (Tiverton, R.I.) and Cindy Walker (Middletown, R.I.), US Sailing Team Sperry (national team)
• 12th overall, Ryan Porteous (San Diego, Calif.) and Maureen McKinnon (Marblehead, Mass.), US Sailing Team Sperry (national team)

Note: Everhart-Skeels/Walker must beat Porteous/McKinnon by two places or more to win Rio 2016 selection.

2.4mR (Paralympic One-Person Keelboat)

• 23rd overall, Dee Smith (Annapolis, Md.), U.S. Paralympic Team & US Sailing Team Sperry (national team)