ISAF Sailing World Championships - Blow for US's Storck and Moore

by Dana Paxton on 19 Dec 2011 Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships final day Medal races were held in the RS:X, 49er, Women’s 470 and Laser classes.

On the final day at the ISAF Sailing World Championships, Erik Storck (Huntington, N.Y.) and Trevor Moore (Naples, Fla./Pomfret, Vt.) went into the 49er medal race with a chance at a bronze medal. Standing in fifth overall, all they had to do is finish in the top four of the ten boat fleet to secure a medal. But, the medal wasn’t to be. On the fifth leg, the rudder pintle broke and the high performance skiff stalled, then capsized.

'It was going great there,' said Moore on the dock shortly after coming ashore. 'We ended up attacking our plan. We got a port-tack start, hipped up on the fleet, and we were heading out right where there was decent pressure. We were winning the race going onto our third and final lap.

'We were cruising upwind, and the rudder started to hydroplane and Erik didn’t have any steering. We went to windward and flipped. Our rudder pintle ended up snapping off. We couldn’t finish the race. After taking a look at where we rounded the second top mark, we were medaling. It was a crushing blow to have a breakdown at that point. If only the pintle would have lasted fifteen minutes more we might have been sitting in a different spot.'

The entire week was strong for Storck and Moore, who have been together as a team for less than three years. They have seen their performance strengthen at every event, and this world championship was yet another increase in their standings.

'Our motto this week was to chip it on the green and making sure we were there,' said Moore. 'I think we accomplished that the entire event. In the medal race, we wanted to me more aggressive and give ourselves a chance at medaling. We decided to swing for the fences. We attacked our game plan; we had great speed and made good tactical choices around the course.'

The consolation for the pair, who finished 9th overall, was securing a USA berth for the 2012 Games.

'Our goal was top ten to secure USA a berth at the 2012 Olympic Games,' said Moore. 'All is accomplished and we can’t complain. I guess we’re going to save our medal for the 2012 Games.'

To listen to the full interview with Trevor Moore, click here.

Overall standings for US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics members competing in the ISAF Sailing World Championships:
49er (Men’s Two Person Dinghy High Performance): 67 boats
9th - Erik Storck (Huntington, N.Y.) and Trevor Moore (North Pomfret, Vt./Naples, Fla.)

Men’s 470 (Men’s Two Person Dinghy): 80 boats
13th - Stuart McNay (Boston, Mass.) and Graham Biehl (San Diego, Calif.)
33rd - Adam Roberts (San Diego, Calif.) and Nick Martin (San Diego, Calif.)

Women’s 470 (Women's Two Person Dinghy): 48 boats
12th - Amanda Clark (Shelter Island, N.Y.) and Sarah Lihan (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
15th - Erin Maxwell (Wilton, Conn.) and Isabelle Kinsolving Farrar (New York/Fishers Island, N.Y.)

Finn (Men’s One Person Dinghy Heavy): 72 boats
9th - Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.)
26th - Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.)

Laser (Men’s One Person Dinghy): 147 boats
14th - Rob Crane (Darien, Conn.)
23rd - Clay Johnson (Toms River, N.J.)

Laser Radial (Women’s One Person Dinghy): 102 boats
3rd - Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.)
46th - Erika Reineke (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Men’s RS:X (Men’s Windsurfer): 91 boats
38th - Robert Willis (Chicago, Ill.)
78th - Ben Barger (St. Petersburg, Fla.)

Women’s RS:X (Women’s Windsurfer): 68 boats
51st - Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.)

Star (Men’s Keelboat): 41 boats
3rd - Mark Mendelblatt (Miami, Fla.) and Brian Fatih (Miami, Fla.)
11th - George Szabo (San Diego, Calif.) and Mark Strube (Punta Gorda, Fla.)
14th - Andrew Campbell (San Diego, Calif.) and Ian Coleman (Annapolis, Md.)
20th - Andy Horton (Washington, D.C.) and John von Schwarz (Annapolis, Md.)
24th - Rick Merriman (New York, N.Y.), who will sail with past USSTAG member Phil Trinter

Women’s Match Racing
1st- Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.), Molly Vandemoer (Stanford, Calif.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.)
13th - Genny Tulloch (Sausalito, Calif.), Alice Manard Leonard (East Haven, Conn.) and Jenn Chamberlin (Washington, D.C.).

Full results available here.

The ISAF Sailing World Championship took place Dec. 3-18 in Fremantle, Australia. The event served as the country qualification regatta where USA secured an Olympic berth in nine of the 10 Olympic events: 49er, Men’s RS:X, Men’s 470, Women’s 470, Laser, Laser Radial, Finn, Star and Women’s Match Racing.

Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.) earned a nomination in the women’s windsurfer (RS:X), pending both US Olympic Committee approval and qualification of the USA in the RS:X. As the USA did not qualify at the ISAF Worlds, the final opportunity will be the 2012 RS:X World Championship, March 20-29,2012 in Cadiz, US Sailing Team website