2021 West Marine US Open Sailing - Miami Overall

Stephan Baker and Nicholas Hardy at West Marine US Open Sailing – Miami © US Sailing / Allison Chenard

It was a "rise and shine" kind of day for the sailors competing at 2021 West Marine US Open Sailing - Miami. Early morning racing was the plan for the fourth and final day of the regatta. The sailors were eager to make it happen for a chance to move up the leaderboard or sustain their positions.

The 49er, 49er FX and the 470 fleets were towed out to the bay just after 7:00 am for an 8:00 am start time. The goal was to complete a race or two before temperatures rise and dull the breeze. The conditions on the bay were hazy and 70 degrees, yet breezy enough to start racing.

The 470s raced first this morning. Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and Dave Hughes (Ithaca, N.Y.) put the finishing touches on another strong regatta with two more wins to capture first place honors. They won 8 of 11 races this week to win by a 13-point margin. Mixed teams Louisa Nordstrom (Osprey, Fla.) and Trevor Bornarth (Stuart, Fla.) finished second, and Michelle Lahrkamp (Rye, N.Y.) and Jack Parkin (Riverside, Conn.) placed third.

"We were looking to get live races under our belt and score races where there is a level of accountability, which is hard to replicate in practice races," said McNay. "And on top of that, we worked on our live starting situations, communications on the upwind and downwind, and so this is part of our World Championship preparation, assuming things go forward as scheduled. We will be racing our World Championships in Vilamoura, Portugal in the beginning of March."

"The light air kept many teams in the mix throughout each race, and that made it good tight racing," added Hughes. "Short course racing is really good preparation for us and a good way for us to go into the next stride."

Nevin Snow (San Diego, Calif.) and Dane Wilson (Ojai, Calif.) sustained their lead on Sunday by placing first and third today to win the 49er fleet by seven points. Barrows (St. Thomas, USVI) and Hans Henken (Coronado, Calif.) finished second overall and won the final race of the regatta. Christopher Williford (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Duncan Williford (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) finished runner up in both races to take third place by just one point over Ander Belausteguigoitia and Danel Belausteguigoitia of Mexico. Snow and Wilson won 9 of 11 races this week.

"I think we sailed really well this week," said Snow. "It's always good to have these racing formats so we can practice taking our boats through the routines. The young sailors here are pushing us as well. This event helped us with managing a smaller fleet. We were able to hone in on the details and experiment a little more."

The 49erFX may have been the most competitive fleet this week. Stephan Baker (Miami, Fla.) and Nicholas Hardy (Newton, Mass.) regained their lead after great results on Saturday, which featured three consecutive wins, to take a seven point lead over Lucy Wilmot (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Erika Reineke (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) entering Sunday. These two teams alternated first and second place results in both races on Sunday. Baker and Hardy earned first place honors by seven points. Bella Casaretto (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Jana Laurendeau (Billerica, Mass.) made the podium in third place.

Together, Baker and Hardy have only been sailing the 49erFX for nine days. "Behind the talent and hard work, we are putting in, we have a lot of fun on the boat together, so it's never too stressful," said Baker. "It's a really good dynamic in the boat."

"Yesterday, we had very fun time racing against Steph Roble and Maggie Shea, especially the last race. They were leading us around the second top mark, and halfway down the downwind we split with them, caught up with them at the gate, and just beat them at the end to have a nice photo finish, which was very exciting."

Roble and Shea raced in three races on Saturday only at the regatta, and were really impressed with the competition.

The Nacra 17 and iQFoil fleets were planning on heading out for an 11:00 am start time following 49er, 49erFX, and 470 racing. However, the conditions did not cooperate for afternoon sailing. The Nacra 17 results through Saturday were final.

Samuel Albrecht and Gabriela Nicolino of Brazil captured first place with their performance in the Nacra 17 fleet. Ravi Parent (Bradenton, Fla.) and David Liebenberg (Richmond, Calif.) finished in second as the top American team, while Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, Calif.) and Anna Weis (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) finished third.

The two iQFoil fleets completed just one race each this week and it happened on Friday, day two of the regatta. Mateus Isaac of Brazil earned the win in the Men's fleet (9-meter sail) and Garrett January (Pinellas, Fla.) won the 8-meter sail race. Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.) placed third overall in the 8-meter race and the top women's sailor.

Full results and standing available here.