Miami Heating up for Canadian Sailing Team – 2015 Miami World Cup

by Sail Canada on 25 Jan 2015 Miami will play host to world class sailors in 10 Olympic classes and 3 Paralympic classes from January 26-31, 2015. Miami World Cup, presented by Sunbrella will see over 650 boats and over 850 sailors from 63 nations vying for qualification and valuable points towards the Abu Dhabi Final later this year.

Top ranked Canadian Radial sailor Isabella Bertold will be battling against the best in class including top ranked sailors Marit Bouwmeester (NED) & Evi Van Acker (BEL). 'This is going to be a really fun regatta! All of the contenders will be racing, every little mistake will be costly, I'm looking forward to the challenge.' Pan Am qualification is also on the line for the Radial contingent with top Canadian finisher securing a spot for Toronto 2015. Bertold finished fourth at the 2011 Pan Am Games and is looking to improve upon that result should she earn the opportunity again this year. 'I think it would be pretty awesome to hear the Canadian National Anthem on Canadian soil.' Fellow teammates Brenda Bowskill, & Claire Merry will also be looking to make their move and claim top spot next week.

The laser fleet is historically the largest fleet of the event and this year is no exception. The maxed out fleet of 120 boats will kick off their event next Monday including 22 of the top world ranked laser sailors. There are 17 Canadian sailors registered including CST sailors Robert Davis, Lee Parkhill, Tom Ramshaw, Evert McLaughlin & Matt Ryder.

2012 Olympian Greg Douglas will be aiming for the podium this year placing fifth at last year’s event. Douglas will throw on the gloves on against the top 5 ranked Finn sailors in the world including Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO), Caleb Paine (USA) & Björn Allansson (SWE).

470 North American champions, Jake and Graeme Saunders will be working hard to challenge the dominant Aussie’s Belcher/Ryan at the front of the fleet while Nacra team Luke Ramsay and Nikola Girke will be putting pressure on their rivals in the 50 boat fleet launching from the Miami Rowing Club. 49er & FX fleets will also sail out of the Miami Rowing Club with healthy sized Canadian, British & US contingents ready to make their mark.

RSX fleets will be launching from the Coconut Grove Sailing Club with an extensive fleet of board sailors looking to collect some World Cup points including Canadian Olympian Zac Plavsic. Plavsic just recently qualified for the 2015 Pan Am Games at the Miami Midwinters.

Paralympic fleets will be sailing out of Shake a Leg Centre, including the 2.4mR, Sonar & SKUD. Canada is well represented in all three events and battles amongst the highly competitive fleets will heat up. Canadian Allan Leibel will be looking to surmount the dominant force of Megan Pascoe and Helena Lucas (GBR) both in the hunt for medals. Canadian SKUD’s John McRoberts and Jackie Gay will take on British rivals Rickham/Birrell for the chance at gold and the Canadian Sonar team, Tingley, Campbell & Lutes will look to add another medal to their collection following their success at the IFDS World Championships.

10:00 local time on Monday January 26 is game time. Competitors in the Paralympic events will have five days of fleet racing from Monday 26 to Friday 30. Medal Races across the ten OIympic events will bring the regatta to a close with a medal ceremony on Saturday 31.

Upcoming Results?:? www.sailing.org/worldcup/results/index.php??

Live Tracking:?Click http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/multimedia/tracking.php!here to view live tracking. ? ?

2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup? Schedule
Melbourne - 7-14 December 2014?
Miami - 25-31 January 2015?
Hyères - 20-26 April 2015?
Weymouth and Portland - 8-14 June 2015?
Qingdao - 14-20 September 2015?2015
Final Abu Dhabi - 27 October to 1 November 2015

For further information:
Colleen Coderre
Communications Manager
Sail Canada
colleen@sailing.ca