Sail for Gold Regatta - US team prepares for battle

by Dana Paxton on 1 Jun 2012 The 2012 Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta is set to take place from 4-9 June at the location that has been selected for the 2012 London Olympic Sailing competition. US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider is in Weymouth and Portland, U.K. preparing for this next event on the European calendar.

This will be the last time that athletes will have a chance to compete at the venue before the start of the 2012 Olympic Games, scheduled for July 29-August 11. Exclusive Team photos, video interviews and reports from the racecourse will be posted on US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider’s Facebook and Twitter channels.

Organizers expect over 700 athletes from 60-plus nations to compete in the fifth stop on the ISAF (International Sailing Federation) World Cup circuit.

'US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider is fully represented at our team training camp this week, including all 22 Olympic and Paralympic Team members, our coaching staff, plus we have a good contingent from our US Sailing Development Team,' said US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider High Performance Director/Head Coach Kenneth Andreasen (Tampa, Fla.). 'Training and competing at the Olympic Sailing venue will allow us to gather more valuable information on conditions as well as test performance against our foreign competition.'

'We’re closing in on 50 days until the start of the Games,' said Olympic Sailing Committee Chairman Dean Brenner (Wallingford, Conn.). 'In addition to this being our last chance at competition on the Olympic course area, this regatta will also serve as a dry run for the Games in a number of ways. Our athletes and coaches will continue to keep ticking things off the to-do list. For example, Olympic equipment has been chosen, final sail selections have been made, and with our support staff and performance enhancement team on site we are making sure everyone stays focused and healthy.'

US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider athletes competing at Sail for Gold:

Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.), Molly Vandemoer (Stanford, Calif.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) women’s match racing (Elliott 6m)
Amanda Clark (Shelter Island, N.Y.) and Sarah Lihan (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) – Women’s 470
Bob Willis (Chicago, Ill.) – RS:X (Men’s Windsurfer)
Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.) – Finn
Erik Storck (Huntington, N.Y.) and Trevor Moore (Pomfret, Vt./Naples, Fla.) – 49er
Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.) -- RS:X (Women’s Windsurfer)
Jen French and JP Creignou (both St. Petersburg, Fla.) SKUD-18 (Two Person Dinghy) -
Mark LeBlanc (New Orleans, La.) – 2.4mR
Mark Mendelblatt and Brian Fatih (both Miami, Fla.) – Star
Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) – Laser Radial
Paul Callahan (Cape Coral, Fla./Newport R.I.), Tom Brown (Castine, Me.) and Bradley Johnson (Pompano Beach, Fla.)– Sonar
Rob Crane (Darien, Conn.) – Laser
Stuart McNay (Boston, Mass.) and Graham Biehl (San Diego, Calif.) -- Men’s 470
Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) – Finn

US Sailing Development Team members competing:

Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) – Laser
Carson Crain (Houston, Texas) – RS:X (Men’s Windsurfer)
Zach Brown (San Diego, Calif.) and Fred Strammer (Nokomis, Fla.) – 49er
Gordon Lamphere (Lake Forest, Ill.) – Finn
Greg Martinez (Houston, Texas) – Laser
Solvig Sayre (Vineyard Haven, Mass.) – RS:X (Women’s Windsurfer)

Racing starts Monday, June 4 in all classes and concludes on Friday for the Paralympic classes and on Saturday, June 9 with the medal race for Olympic classes. Women’s Match Racing consist of an opening series, a knockout series, and a sail-off for boats not advancing to the knockout series, with the final matches scheduled on Saturday, June 9. US Sailing Team website