Miami sailors win IFDS Disabled Sailing Worlds

by Lynn Fitzpatrick Sail-World USA on 16 Sep 2007 It may be so hot and humid in Miami that there aren’t many sailors out on Biscayne Bay during the summer, but that doesn’t stop them from traveling great distances to compete in world championships. Local sailors Karen Mitchell (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) and J.P. Creignou (St. Petersburg, Fla.) captured the gold medal at the IFDS Disabled World Sailing Championship in Rochester, NY in the SKUD-18 class.

Their win qualified the United States to participate in the SKUD-18 event at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Qingdao, China. The United States also won the gold medal in the Sonar Class at the IFDS Disabled World Championship. The gold medal in the Sonar class and a top finish at the 2006 2.4mR World Championships in 2006 means that the United States has qualified to send sailors to all three of the paralympic sailing events in Qingdao.

Mitchell and Creignou sailed consistently throughout the regatta and never finished below 7th in any race in 18-boat fleet. Races were held in all types of wind conditions from light air to moderate to heavy air. There was even one day with intermittent squalls.

Mitchell and Creignou were not the only Florida sailors at the event. Jack King, a member of Miami’s Waterfront Advisory Board, was on hand as the Principal Race Officer for the SKUD-18 class. Both Karen Mitchell and David Schroeder, a Sonar skipper, are members of the 2007 US Disabled Sailing Team and primarily practice out of Shake-a-Leg Miami. As we approach next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games, expect Miami’s sailing facilities to be the practice hub for the US Paralympic sailors and the Star and Yngling Olympic class sailors.

While Mitchell and Creignou qualified the United States for the Paralympic Games, they still have to win the United States Paralympic Sailing Trials during early October in Newport, Rhode Island.