ISAF Worlds - Americans jump up Laser and Laser Radial leaderboard

by US Sailing on 14 Sep 2014 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships - Santander - After months of training together at locations on three continents, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider Laser athletes jumped up the leaderboard as a group on day two of racing at the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships in Santander, Spain.

In the men’s Laser class, Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) executed one of his best single-day performances at a World Championship. Buckingham had a two, eight scoreline in two races, and now sits in eighth overall in the 147-boat fleet. 'The two races were very different today, so I was happy to come away with what I did.' said Buckingham. 'The first race had a solid sea breeze, while it died and shifted before the second race. In that second race, I rounded 20th at the first mark after a big error, but ground my way back.'

Not far behind Buckingham was his high school, college and national team teammate Chris Barnard (Newport Beach, Calif.), who finished with a ten, two and is now 12th overall. Barnard has been the most consistent American Laser sailor so far, with a scoreline of seven, eleven, ten, two. 'I’m content with the results today, but now it’s time for the real racing to start,' said Barnard, who referred to the fact that gold fleet competition begins tomorrow. 'I’ve now spent one full year campaigning full time [for the Olympics], and this week will be a good gauge of how far I’ve come. So far I think there’s been good improvement.' Also staying in the top group with another solid day was the US Sailing Development Team’s Erik Bowers (Excelsior, Minn.), who notched a sixteen, eight and is in 25th overall.

US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider Laser Radial athlete Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) finished nine, eight in two races today, and vaulted from 28th to eighth overall. Reineke has now scored top-10 finishes in three out of four races, including win in race one.

Under the tutelage of multiple medal-winning coach Mark Littlejohn (Auckland, New Zealand), the American Laser and Laser Radial groups have trained extensively together in Miami, Florida, Santander, Rio de Janeiro, and Long Beach, California. Long Beach is known for its consistent breeze and a typical sea state that closely matches that of the Worlds venue in Santander. It has proven to be an ideal training location for American sailors, who operated out of Alamitos Bay Yacht Club for an extended period this Spring. Clearwater Community Sailing Center in Clearwater, Florida (A US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider Official Training Center) was instrumental in providing boats to make these full-team Laser and Radial training camps happen. In 2014, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider athletes, coaches and partner organizations have put in many hours of work that may now be paying off at the World Championships.

In the men’s and women’s RS:X fleet, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider athletes saw their first day of racing. The top performer in the women’s fleet (35th out of 62) was 2012 Olympian Farrah Hall, who has enjoyed improved results in the past year. On the men’s side, the team is led by Carson Crain (Houston, Texas), who sits in 39th in a fleet of 97. The US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider is being coached this week by two-time Olympic windsurfing medalist Michael Gebhardt (Ft. Pierce, Fla.). 'RS:X sailing, like any Olympic class, requires significant exposure to top international competition,' said Gebhardt. 'It is also an incredibly physical type of sailing, sort of like combining a boxing match and a marathon. I think our new generation has a lot of potential, and I’m excited to watch them improve.'

On day three of the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships, the men’s and women’s 470 classes will hold their first races. The RS:X fleets will have their final day of qualifying competition, and the Laser and Laser Radial fleets will hold their first gold, silver and bronze division races.

Notable US Results (Overall), Day two:

Laser Men (147 boats):
• Seventh, Charlie Buckingham, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider
• 11th, Chris Barnard, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider
• 20th Erik Bowers, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider

Laser Radial Women (120 boats):
• 10th, Erika Reineke, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider

RS:X Men (97 boards):
• 39th, Carson Crain, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider

RS:X Women (62 boards):
• 35th, Farrah Hall, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Side