2021 West Marine US Open Sailing Series - Clearwater Day 3

2021 West Marine US Open Sailing – Clearwater © US Sailing Team / Allison Chenard

Sailors experienced another day of various conditions and new challenges on the water at Day 3 of 2021 West Marine US Open - Clearwater. Sunday marks the final day of racing at the regatta featuring 90 sailors in six classes.

The Open and Men's iQFoil fleets enjoyed a physical day on the water in the conditions. The men completed six more races and the Open fleet totaled five races on Saturday. They raced a slalom course in 8 to 12 knots with light swell.

In the Men's fleet, Mateus Isaac (Sao Paulo, BRA) continues his hot streak with 14 consecutive wins to remain perfect for the regatta. He holds a 21-point lead over Adrien Gaillard (MEX). Alexander Temko (Palm Harbor, Fla.) is the top American in third place. Temko has seven top three finishes, including three on Saturday.

Mariana Aguilar Chavez Peon (MEX) won the first 11 races of the regatta until Race 12 where she placed third. This currently stands as her throw-out score after winning Race 13. She has an 11-point lead over Giovanna Prada (BRA) who Race 12 on Saturday. Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.) remains the top American in third place. She has seven top three finishes this week.

Donna Sue Marks, Deputy Race Officer for the kites and boards this week has been running races with kites for six years. "We've seen the progression of the U.S. sailors and it gets better every year. I was at the US Open in Miami with the iQFoils and we didn't have the conditions we had today. The sailors who were in Miami and are now in Clearwater got to experience better conditions. We are watching how the equipment is performing so we can report back to the class."

The leaderboard got real tight in the Foiling Kites class in late afternoon racing. Passing showers and light breeze kept the kites grounded for the earlier part of the day. Markus Edegran (West Palm Beach, Fla.) had a six-point leader over Evan Heffernan (Santa Barbara, Calif.) after Friday's races. Edegran could not complete a race on Saturday and posted four DNCs, while Heffernan posted 1-2-2-3 scores to take over the lead. Cai Calder (Alameda, Calif.) bounced back after a DNC in Saturday's first race, with three straight wins in Races 13, 14, and 15. Calder is in second place and two points behind. Edegran dropped to third and 10 points back.

US Sailing Team Coach, Charlie McKee, is impressed with the competition and fascinated by the kites this week. "These kites are up on hydrofoils so the speeds that they are sailing at are very high. Despite how fast they are going they are so efficient and use tacking and gybing very little. It's a great combination of really difficult technical skills, speed, and also tactics and strategy. It is amazing how close the racing is. The top three are typically finishing within five seconds of each other."

All eyes are on the Laser Radial fleet as Chapman Petersen (Fontana, Wis.) continues to post strong scores through another three races. He leads overall by 11 points after a 2-6-2 on Saturday. The top women's performer is Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) who is second overall. She leads Isabella Maegli Aguero (GUA) by 16 points. Aguero, Sarah Douglas (Toronto, CAN), and Charlotte Rose (Houston, Texas) each won a race on Saturday.

Leo Boucher (West River, Md.) posted a 2-3-3 scoring line and has a 17-point advantage heading into Sunday's final set of races. Marshall McCann (Kemah, Texas), Charles Anderson (West River, Md.), and Humberto Porrata (North Palm Beach, Fla.) each posted wins on Saturday.

Anna Vasilieva (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) continues her hold over the Laser 4.7 fleet with three more wins on Saturday to remain perfect over nine races. Evan Wern (St. Petersburg, Fla.) is the top male sailor in the fleet and is in second overall.

Full results available here.

To learn more about the West Marine US Open Sailing Series and to follow all the action in 2021, visit the series website at usopen.ussailing.org.