Rolex Miami OCR - Day Two
Challenging Races in All Classes

Posted Tuesday, January 26, 2010

 
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Today counted as a perfect day at US SAILING's 2010 Rolex Miami OCR <http://RMOCR.ussailing.org> , the second of seven stops of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF)Sailing World Cup 2009-2010
<http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/> . Especially after yesterday's weather interruptions, no one minded this morning's slight cold snap that gave way to brilliant conditions on Biscayne Bay and allowed
multiple races to be completed in the 13 Olympic and Paralympic classes represented here. The annual event, in its 21st year, has 45 nations represented on its roster of 448 teams (633 athletes), most of whom are
top contenders for 2012 Olympic or Paralympic berths.

Israel's Gideon Kliger and Eran Sela took pleasure in "three good races" that launched them to the top of the scoreboard in the 470 Men's class that runs 34 teams deep. (Racing was cancelled for this class
yesterday.) Even with an impressive scoreline of 2-6-4, however, Kliger was humble about his team's performance. "We only started sailing together one month ago, so I wouldn't have put ourselves in 'the teams
to watch,' but it was a good day." Kliger skippered in two Olympic Games (Athens and Beijing) and has claimed three bronze medals at 470 class world championships. He was quick to point out that his crew also holds
a bronze medal from the Junior World Championship. "All the best guys are here, like at the worlds," said Kliger. Nipping at his heels in overall standings is Luke Patience with crew Stuart Bithell (GBR),
showing 17 points to Israel's 12, followed by Sven and Kalle Coster (NED) with 22 points.

Mikee Anderson-Mitterling (San Diego, Calif.) and David Hughes (San Diego, Calif.), comprising the top-finishing U.S. team (12th place) in this class, also felt a bit like newcomers today. "It was our first day
back after not sailing for 2 ½ years since the Olympic Trials," said Anderson-Mitterling. "We're going to try to see at this point if we still think we have it, and if we feel we can do well, we might go full
bore again for an Olympic campaign." As for holding their own, he admitted, "It's a deep fleet (in talent); if you make a mistake they make you pay."

Only four points separated the top seven Women's 470 teams, proving how experience ruled the day as sailors played to the shifty conditions. Two French teams and two U.S. teams rose to the top: Ingrid Petitjean and
crew Nadege Douroux posted the fewest points (13) in the low-point scoring system, with Erin Maxwell (Norwalk, Conn.) and Isabelle Kinsolving Farrar (New York, N.Y.) following close behind with 14. After
that, it's the same trade-out with France's Camille Lecointre and Mathilde Geron posting 15 points, followed by Amanda Clark (Shelter Island Heights, N.Y.) and Sarah Chin (Hoboken, N.J.), also with 15 (but
showing fourth because of tie-breaking rules).

"It was difficult, with very shifty winds," said Petitjean, who noted that she knows Maxwell and Kinsolving almost as well as her own teammates here on the French national team. Such is the way of making
friends the world-over while sailing an Olympic campaign. When asked who she would watch most closely tomorrow, Petitjean said, "After only three races, we are not watching anyone, we are competing against the whole
fleet."

Kinsolving Farrar agreed the conditions were tricky but exciting: "You had to keep your head out of the boat and look around the whole time. It's never over until it's over. There's always room to be gained."

This is Clark and Chin's first major event after taking the last year off after competing at the 2008 Olympic Games, and they're eager to get back into the mix. "Changing places with other teams was really fun,"
said Clark. "The pumping flag was up, so we were able to be physical and play the waves."

In the 24-boat Star class, four American teams finished in the top five after three races today, with Andy Horton (South Burlington, Vt.) and James Lyne (Granville, Vt.) in the lead. On their course, the wind
shifted 60 degrees right by the end of the day. "The U.S. teams did what they needed to do today: they hit about 75 percent of the shifts and had single digits for the majority of the races," said Mark Ivey (San
Francisco, Calif.), who is here coaching the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics' Star teams. "The goal for everybody was for everyone in the top eight at all mark roundings ... which is what you have to do in
a small boat fleet."

"It was pretty crazy," said Horton, whose goal is to finish in the top five this week. "It was pretty shifty and puffy, so [we had to] change gears a lot."

Horton said he felt lucky with their top results today, considering this is only the third regatta they've sailed together. "We're still trying to figure things out working as a team. There's so much communication in
a Star boat - there's two of you, big sails and lots of kinetics in a big boat."

2009 Star World Champions George Szabo (San Diego, Calif.) and Rick Peters (Venice, Calif.) finished the three races in fourth overall today. Szabo noted that it was a tough day to catch all the shifts and
he was glad they didn't make any big errors that would take them out of the race. "It was really hard on the crews today; they had to work extra hard," he said.

About US SAILING's 2010 Rolex Miami OCR Established in 1990 by US SAILING, the Rolex Miami OCR annually draws elite sailors, including Olympic and Paralympic medalists and hopefuls from around the world. This is the second of seven events in the 2010
International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Sailing World Cup circuit. The USA has the largest contingent of sailors with 169, followed by Canada (83), France (46), Great Britain (41), The Netherlands (24), Germany
(23), Denmark (18), and Sweden (18). Medals will be awarded to the top three boats in each Olympic and Paralympic event on Saturday, January 30.

The Rolex Miami OCR hosts the same 10 Olympic and three Paralympic classes chosen for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Competitions. At the same time, it closely replicates the format and feel of what
sailors can expect at those regattas. The classes are: Laser Radial (women), Laser (men), Finn (men), Men's RS:X, Women's RS:X, 49er (men), Men's 470, Women's 470, Star (men) and Elliott 6m (women), 2.4mR (open,
able and disabled), SKUD18 (mixed, disabled) and Sonar (open, disabled). Regatta Headquarters are located at the US Sailing Center Miami, an official Olympic training center, in the Coconut Grove section of Miami,
Fla. Event organizers have partnered with the city of Miami to provide world-class venues for competition. Additional hosts for the event include Coral Reef Yacht Club, Key Biscayne Yacht Club, Coconut Grove
Sailing Club, Miami Rowing Club and Shake-a-Leg Miami. These sailing organizations host classes onshore, as well as help run the on-the-water racing. The Coral Reef Yacht Club also hosts the Opening and Closing
Ceremonies. In addition, the University of Miami Hospital will provide on-site medical care during the event.

In addition to title sponsor Rolex Watch U.S.A., US SAILING's 2010 Rolex Miami OCR is also sponsored by AlphaGraphics, Sperry Top-Sider, Atlantis WeatherGear, Harken, Team McLube, and the University of Miami Hospital.

A complete roster can be viewed at the event web site, rmocr.ussailing.org, where real-time regatta results, photos and updates are posted daily. Video highlights, produced by T2Productions, will air
Wednesday through Saturday and can be viewed on the event web site. Fans can also visit the Facebook fan page and Twitter page.

About the ISAF Sailing World Cup The ISAF Sailing World Cup is an annual series that brings together the existing major events on the Olympic and Paralympic sailing circuits, starting in Australia (Sail Melbourne) in December before moving to the
U.S. (US Sailing's Rolex Miami OCR) in January and then on to Europe (Trofeo SAR Princess Sofia MAPFRE in Palma, Spain; Semaine Olympique Francaise in Hyeres, France; the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, The
Netherlands; and Kieler Woche in Kiel, Germany) and Great Britain (Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta at the 2012 Olympic sailing venue at Weymouth). More than 2,000 of the world's leading sailors representing
65 nations competed in the first season of the World Cup, 2008-2009. By scoring competitors across all events included in the season, the ISAF Sailing World Cup offers a definitive guide to the best-of-the-best in
the Olympic and Paralympic sailing worlds.

US SAILING's 2010 Rolex Miami OCR
Top-three Finishes
Day Two

49er (36 boats) - 6 races
1. Will Phillips/ Sam Phillips (AUS), 1-1-1-2-(13)-12, 17
2. Manu Dyen/Stephane Christidis (FRA), 2-6-3-7-(9)-1, 19
3. Lauri Lehtinen/Kalle Bask (FIN), 4-3-11-3-3-(27), 24

Laser Radial (57 boats) - 3 races
1. Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla., USA), 1-1-4, 6
2. Marit Bouwmeester (NED), 4-6-10, 20
3. Cecilia Carranza Saroli (ARG), 10-9-2, 21

Laser (104 boats)-4 races
1. Nick Thompson (GBR), 1-6-1-1, 9
2. Bruno Fontes (BRA), 5-1-4-4, 14
3. Gijs Pelt (NED), 6-6-13-3, 28

Elliott 6m (24 boats)-
Group A- INCOMPLETE

Group B
1. Lucy Macgregor/Annie Lush/Ally Martin(GBR)
2. Sally Barkow( Nashotah, Wis.,USA)/Katie Pettibone (Sacramento,
Calif., USA)/Nicole Breault (Old Lyme, Conn., USA)
3. Renee Groeneveld/Annemieke Bes/Brechtje van der Werf (NED)

Group C
1. Nicky Souter/Stacey Jackson/Ray Martin (AUS)
2. Samantha Osborne/Jenna Hansen/Raynor Smeal (NZL)
3. Silke Hahlbrockl/ Maren Hahlbrock/Juliane Wolf (GER)

Finn (37 boats) - 3 races
1. Giles Scott (GBR), 2-7-1, 10
2. Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla., USA), 4-5-4, 13
3. Peer Moberg (NOR), 7-8-6, 21

470 Men (34 boats) - 3 races
1. Gideon Kliger/Eran Sela (ISR), 2-6-4, 12
2. Luke Patience/Stuart Bithell (GBR), 9-2-6, 17
3. Sven Coster/Kalle Coster (NED), 14-1-7, 22

470 Women (26 boats) - 3 races
1. Ingrid Petitjean/Nadege Douroux (FRA), 10-2-1, 13
2. Erin Maxwell/Isabelle Kinsolving (Norwalk, Conn., USA/New York,
N.Y.USA), 9-1-4, 14
3. Camille Lecointre/Mathilde Geron (FRA), 1-8-6, 15

Star (26 boats) - 3 races
1. Andy Horton/James Lyne (Burlington, Vt., USA/Granville, Vermont,
USA), 2-1-3, 6
2. Eivind Melleby/Petter Morland Pederson (NOR), 1-10-2, 13
3. Mark Mendelblatt/John Von Schwarz (St. Petersburg, Fla.,
USA/Annapolis, Maryland, USA), 8-7-1, 16

RS:X Men (41 boats) - 2 races
1. Dorian Rijsselberghe (NED), 1-1, 2
2. Kevin Stittle (CAN), 2-3, 5
3. Nick Dempsey (GBR), 4-4, 8

RS:X Women (25 boats) - 2 races
1. Blanca Manchon (ESP), 1-1, 2
2. Marina Alabau (ESP), 2-2, 4
3. Charline Picon (FRA), 3-3, 6

2.4mR (28 boats) - 3 races
1. John Ruf (Pewaukee, Wis.,USA), 2-1-2, 5
2. Thierry Schmitter (NED), 1-3-6, 10
3. Megan Pascoe (GBR), 5-6-5, 16

Sonar (9 boats) - 3 races
1. Aleksander Wang-Hansen Per Eugen Kristiansen/Marie Solberg (NOR),
1-4-1, 6
2. Jens Kroker/Robert Prem/Siegmund Mainka (GER), 2-2-5, 9
3. John Robertson/Hannah Stodel/Steve Thomas (GBR), 4-3-2, 9

SKUD-18 (7 boats)-3 races
1. Scott Whitman/Julia Dorsett (Brick, N.J., USA/Boca Raton, Fla., USA),
1-3-1, 5
2. Jennifer French/Jean-Paul Creignou (St. Petersburg, Fla.,
USA/St.Petersburg, Fla., USA), 2-2-3, 7
3. Alexandra Rickham/Niki Birrell (GBR), 4-1-4, 9