ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami - Bad luck continues on Day 5

by Will Ricketson on 1 Feb 2014 On day five of the ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami light air returned, and a frustrating run of bad luck continued for athletes, race officials, and organizers . 'I've never seen anything like this weather in the 20-plus years I've been around this event,' said American Olympic gold and silver medalist Kevin Burnham, who was coaching a US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider Sonar Paralympic keelboat at the regatta. 'Miami is truly one of the world's best places to sail.'

Friday marked the close of competition for Paralympic athletes, and the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider made it to the podium in two of three classes. In the Sonar, the veteran team of Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), Tim Angle (Reading, Mass.) and Hugh Freund (Brookline, Mass.) made it two medals in a row at ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, winning bronze. 'The communication between us was just so good on the water, and felt so natural, that once we got on the course it was just 'Game On,' said Angle.

Also landing on the podium as bronze medalists were Ryan Porteous (San Diego, Calif.) and Cindy Walker (Abington, Mass.) in the SKUD-18, as the pair continued their quick rise to international competitiveness. 'After a fourth at the Worlds, and a third here, hopefully we'll just keep climbing up the podium,' said skipper Porteous. 'We got better each day of racing, and that's a big positive. The goal is in sight, and definitely reachable.' Walker was quick to pay tribute to the cohesion of the SKUD-18 group within the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider as being a key to the burgeoning speed of the American boats. 'The other SKUD team of Sarah [Everhart Skeels] and Gerry [Tiernan] did a lot to help us get prepared, and Sarah's husband Brian helped us fix our broken seats before the regatta. It really was a team event.'

49er (Men): While conditions were certainly a challenge, the 49er and 49erFX classes were able to complete three light and challenging races in the waters near Rickenbacker Causeway. The American 49er team of Brad Funk (Miami, Fla.) and Trevor Burd (Marblehead, Mass.) continued to shine, posting finishes of a third and first, and briefly taking the overall regatta lead. While the pair fell back to third overall after a 14th in the final race today, they are ready and excited for tomorrow's medal races. 'Brad and I came into this regatta with no expectations, which kept the pressure low. It's been great to see the work we've been putting in paying off here, and we're looking forward to finishing strong,' said Burd. 'This week has given us a lot of time to refine our light air sailing. It's been great to work with our coaches, and to see the improvement all week, especially downwind. We've had enough pace to pick our spots, although there's definitely room for improvement.'

US Standings: Brad Funk and Trevor Burd (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) third, Trevor Moore and Zach Brown (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) 13th, Thomas Barrows and Joe Morris 20th.

Unfortunately, no other classes were able to complete any further races on Day 5 (Friday), and so the standings remain unchanged. See below for tomorrow's US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider medal race schedule.

Laser Radial (Women), US Standings: Paige Railey (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) first, Erika Reineke (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) ninth, Christine Neville (US Sailing Development Team) 12th, Hanne Weaver 15th, Dana Rohde (US Sailing Development Team) 23rd, Riley Legault 29th, Claire Dennis (US Sailing Development Team) 31st.

470 (Men), US Standings: Stu McNay and Dave Hughes (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) first, Adam Roberts and Erik Storck 19th, Wade Waddell and Henry Fernberger (US Sailing Development Team) 21st, Jordan factor and Matt Wefer (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) 24th.

470 (Women), US Standings: Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) fourth, Sydney Bolger and Carly Shevitz (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) ninth.

Finn (Men), US Standings: Luke Lawrence eighth, Caleb Paine (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) 12th, John F. Dane 17th, Henry Sprague 19th, Gordon Lamphere (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) 21st.

Laser (Men), US Standings: Charlie Buckingham (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) seventh, Chris Barnard 12th, Erik Bowers 19th, Greg Martinez 28th, Luke Muller 31st, Derick Vranizan (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) 32nd.

2.4mR (Mixed), US Standings: Danny Evans (US Sa iling Team Sperry Top-Sider) eighth, Charlie Rosenfield (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) 11th, Ted Green 12th.

Nacra 17 (Mixed) US Standings: Robbie Daniel and Catherine Shanahan (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) 12th, Sarah Newberry and John Casey (US Sailing Development Team) 13th, Taylor Reiss and Sarah Lihan (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) 21st, Steph Hudson and Dave Hein (US Sailing Development Team) 22nd.

49erFX (Women), US Standings: Kristen Lane and Maggie Shea (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) 22nd, Genny Tulloch and Kathleen Tocke 23rd, Paris Henken and Helena Scutt (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) 24th, Debbie Capozzi and Molly Vandemoer (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) 29th.

Sonar (Mixed): Rick Doerr, Tim Angle and Hugh Freund (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) third, Andrew Fisher, Kieth Burhans and Brad Johnson (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) fifth.

RS:X (Men) US Standings: Carson Crain (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) 14th, Jonathan Rudich 15th , Raul Lopez (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) 16th .

RS:X (Women), US Standings: Farrah Hall seventh, Marion Lepert (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) 12th , Solvig Sayre 14th.

SKUD-18 (Mixed), US Standings: Ryan Porteous and Cindy Walker (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) third, Sarah Everhart Skeels and Gerry Tiernan (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) fourth.

Full standings: click here

US Medal Race Schedule for Day 6 (Saturday):

1100, 49er (3 races): Brad Funk and Trevor Burd (3rd overall)
1100, 470 Men: Stu McNay and Dave Hughes (1st overall)
1130, 470 Women: Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha (4th overall), Sydney Bolger and Carly Shevitz (9th overall)
1200, Finn: Luke Lawrence (8th overall)
1230, RS:X Women: Farrah Hall (7th overall)
1330, Laser Radial: Paige Railey (1st overall) and Erika Reineke (9th overall)

1400, Laser: Charlie Buckingham (7th overall)