Wind stalls then racing - 2007 Rolex Miami OCR

by Barby MacGowan on 24 Jan 2007 Like a bratty sister of yesterday's perfect conditions, light air slipped in this morning to tease the 855 sailors from 49 countries who were anxious to start their second day of racing at US SAILING's 2007 Rolex Miami OCR. The nuisance imposed by the 'postponement ashore' for 14 one-design classes was understandable, since for many, this regatta -- in its 18th year and sailed on Biscayne Bay -- plays a critical role in fulfilling Olympic and Paralympic dreams. As the only International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Grade-One regatta in the United States for Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, the Rolex Miami OCR helps determine national and world rankings and, for some countries, the actual teams that will attend the 2008 Games in China.

By early afternoon, most classes had been sent out or put on standby to go racing, but the Tornados, with a circle several miles down the bay, were told to stay put. Their cancelled racing left yesterday's standings intact, with Australia's four-time Tornado world champion and two-time ISAF World Champion Darren Bundock and crew Glenn Ashby leading the 43-boat fleet. The team faces stiff competition from such top players as 2005 Rolex ISAF World Sailors of the Year Fernando Echavarri and Anton Paz from Spain, currently fourth; Austria's two-time Olympic gold medalist Roman Hagara and crew Hans Peter Steinacher, currently sixth; and the USA's silver medalists John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree (New Orleans, La./Kemah, Texas), currently 14th.

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The Star class' pool of talent also runs deep, with an even more overwhelming number of world champions and Olympic medalists competing. At the top of his game--and the scoreboard after one race today in 5-6 knots of wind--was Sweden's two-time World Champion Fredrik Loof and crew Anders Ekstrom.

Finishing second today, they soared past current world champion Hamish Pepper and crew David Giles, who were second overall yesterday after two races and fell to 16th today when they had to count a 28th-place finish. Plummeting and rising are actions typical for this class, where today's lag-behinds may be tomorrow's leaders.

Even though competition is equally world-class in Lasers -- Australia's Olympic bronze medalist Michael Blackburn is leading, followed by fellow countryman Tom Slingsby, the runnerup at the 2006 Laser Worlds -- there is still enough elbow room for underdogs to learn from top dogs. 'You can't sail anywhere else against competition like this,' said the USA's Kyle Rogachenko (Collegeville, Pa.), a teenage college student ranked fourth on the US Sailing Team and currently in 32nd overall. 'This year is definitely tougher because the top 20 world-ranked teams are here, but I'm still young and the 2012 Olympics are really my goal.'

Jesse Fielding (North Kingstown, R.I.), another teen crewing on one of the speedy and wildly exciting 49er skiffs, shares Rogachenko's sentiment. 'Competing in this event is like playing on the PGA Tour without having to qualify,' said Fielding, who is also a member of Disney's Morning Light Team of youngsters being trained for the Transpac Race.

While Fielding and skipper Mike Coe (Annapolis, Md.) are humbly fighting for position at the back of the fleet, another U.S. team -- comprised of third-ranked US Sailing Team members Tim Wadlow (Beverly, Mass.) and Christopher Rast (Wake Forest, N.C.) -- rose from second to first overall today after finishing third in their one race today. 'We were really fast; we had good upwind boat speed,' said Wadlow, who won two of yesterday's three races. Echoing the refrain heard in every class, Wadlow added, 'The competition is incredible. There are 20 boats who can win a race, so it's hard to narrow down who the toughest competition is.'

Online Information and Resources Updated Daily
For complete and up-to-the-minute regatta news and results, visit www.RolexMiamiOCR.org. For nightly video reports from America's Cup Hall of Fame inductee, author and sailing broadcaster Gary Jobson (Annapolis, Md.), visit www.NBCSports.com; for expanded video coverage, including more interviews and outtakes, visit www.RolexMiamiOCR.org

About US SAILING's 2007 Rolex Miami OCR
The Rolex Miami OCR is the only International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Grade-One ranking event in the U.S. for competition in all 14 Olympic and Paralympic classes selected for the next Olympic and Paralympic Games: 49er, 470 (Men & Women), Finn, Laser, Laser Radial, Neil Pryde RS:X (Men & Women), Star, Tornado; Yngling; 2.4mR, SKUD-18, and Sonar.

The regatta is especially important as a ranking regatta for American sailors hoping to qualify for the US Sailing Team and the US Disabled Sailing Team, which distinguish the top three sailors in each Olympic or Paralympic class.

Scheduled are five days of fleet racing through Friday, January 26, and one day of medal racing (for Olympic classes only) on Saturday, January 27. Saturday's medal races follow the new Olympic format, lining up the top 10 teams in each class on the starting line on the final day of racing.

Regatta Headquarters for the 2007 Rolex Miami OCR are at the US Sailing Center, with classes hosted by other area sailing organizations and parks, which include: Coral Reef Yacht Club, Key Biscayne Yacht Club, Miami Yacht Club, Coconut Grove Sailing Club, Shake-A-Leg Miami, and Crandon Park Marina. The City of Miami and the Miami Dade Sports Commission also support the event.

In addition to title sponsor Rolex Watch U.S.A., the 2007 Rolex Miami OCR is also sponsored by all the partners that support the US Sailing Team: Nautica, Vanguard Sailboats, Zodiac, Gill, Harken, Sperry Top-Sider, Nikon, New England Ropes, Extrasport, and McLube. Rolex is also a sponsor of the US Sailing Team. The City of Miami has partnered with regatta organizers this year to help with the expansion of the sailing venues.

US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR Top-Three Results (Provisional)
Day 2

Finn (49 boats) -- 4 races
1. Dan Slater (NZL), 3-8-3-2, 16
2. Daniel Birgmark (SWE), 6-2-5-4, 17
3. Pieter-Jan Postma (NED), 1-6-1-10, 18

49er (47 boats) -- 4 races
1. Tim Wadlow/Christopher Rast (Beverly, Mass./Wake Forest, N.C., USA), 5-1-1-3, 10
2. Ben Rhodes/Stevie Morrison (GBR), 1-6-3-1, 11
3. Pietro Sibello/Gianfranco Sibello (ITA), 8-2-1-2, 13

470 Men's (31 boats) -- 4 races
1. Nick Rogers/Joe Glanfield (GBR), 2-1-4-11, 18
2. Gustavo Martinez/Dimas Wood (ESP), 4-3-13-3, 23
2. Alvaro Marinho/Miguel Nunes (POR), 1-7-7-10, 25

470 Women's (18 boats) -- 5 races
1. Marcelien de Koning/Lobke Berkhout (NED), 1-1-1-[8]-5, 8
2. Erin Maxwell/Isabelle Kinsolving (Norwalk, Conn./New York, N.Y., USA), 3-4-[11]-3-2, 12
3. Ingrid Petitjean/ Nadege Douroux (FRA), 4-2-[8]-6-1, 13

Laser (69 boats) -- 4 races
1. Michael Blackburn (AUS), 3-6-1-3, 13
2. Tom Slingsby (AUS), 2-1-7-9, 19
2. Paul Goodison (GBR), 2-1-1-18, 22

Laser Radial (69 boats) -- 3 races
1. Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla., USA), 5-2-6, 13
2. Gintare Volungeviciute (LTU), 3-3-7, 13
3. Tania Elias Calles (MEX), 4-5-4, 13

RS:X Men (44 boats) -- 3 races
1. Byron Kokkalanis (GRE), 9-7-3, 19
2. Ivan Pastor (ESP), 2-8-10, 20
3. Przeymslaw Miarczynski (POL) 1-5-15, 21

RS:X Women (28 boats) -- 3 races
1. Bryony Shaw (GBR), 4-5-4, 13
2. Antonia Frey (GRE), 7-4-6, 17
3. Marta Hlavaty (POL), 2-1-17, 20

SKUD-18 (10 boats) - 5 races
1. David Cook/Brenda Hopkin (CAN), 2-4-3-1-[5], 10
2. Karen Mitchell/ JP Creignou (Deerfield Beach, Fla./St. Petersburg, Fla., USA), 6-2-1-2-[7], 12
3. Allan Smith/Jackie Gay (GBR), 1-1-[11/OCS]-7-4, 13

Sonar (14 boats) -- 5 races
1. Dan Parsons/Tom Pygall/Guy Draper (GBR), 3-3-2-[15/OCS]-1, 9
2. John Robertson/Hannah Stodel/Stephen Thomas (GBR), 2-4-1-3-[7], 10
3. Rick Doerr/Tim Angle/Bill Donohue, (Clifton, N.J./ Marblehead, Mass./ Brick, N.J., USA), 6-1-[9]-2-8, 17

Star (67 boats) -- 3 race
1. Fredrik Loof/Anders Ekstrom (SWE), 3-2-2, 7
2. Robert