US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR
Tomorrow's Finals a One-Race Spectacle

Miami, Fla. (January 26, 2006)—The stakes were high today as 610 sailors from 40 countries at the US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR made their last bid for a berth in tomorrow's finals at US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR. It will be the second time ever and the first time in the U.S. that the new Olympic format--which calls for a single "Medal Race" to conclude the series for each of nine classes--will be applied at a major Olympic preparation regatta like this. The jury is far from out, since no one quite knows what to expect, but certainly the new system is foremost in competitors' minds as they strategize for tomorrow.

Whereas a throwout has been allowed in the series leading up to it, the Medal Race must be counted in the scoreline and also counts double (for two races). Regardless of the size of a class's fleet, only the top ten go into the Medal Race. Umpires resolve all protests on the water, and the results are final almost immediately. (Since the Paralympic Games have not adopted the new format, the Sonar class competing here will sail the last two races planned for their series.)

"So many things can happen" said George Szabo (San Diego, Calif.), who with Eric Monroe (Coronado) is in second behind France's Xavier Rohart (Martigues) and Pascal Rambeau (La Rochelle), and in front of defending champions Andrew Horton (Newport, R.I.) and Brad Nichol (Miami Beach, Fla.). "Horton could have a really good day. The worst we could finish is sixth. It's fun though; it has been a fun week. Not often can you have so many mid-teen finishes and be in second place. It means it was a difficult regatta."

In the typically small fleets at the Olympic Games, the odds are slim of someone sitting out their last race because they've mathematically won, but in the 69-boat Star fleet here,
Rohart and Rambeau built up a whopping 48-point lead that mathematically does allow them to sit out tomorrow's race.

"There are positives and negatives on every team, but for us we are consistent always," said Rohart, who with Rambeau claims two Star World titles, including the current one, and won the Star-class bronze medal in Athens. "There are no bad things--never. This is good, especially here, because everyone is great."

Another team who does not have to sail tomorrow is that comprised of reigning Yngling world champions Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.), Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) and Deborah Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.). With a lead of 23 points over their closest competitors, they, too, are mathematically untouchable but will sail in the finals in the spirit of supporting the change.

"We were on it tactically all week," said Barkow, recently named US SAILING's Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. "Our team has been in the boat the longest, which is not to say the competition wasn't tough, but when we make a mistake we try to only make it once."

The UK's 49er team of Chris Draper and Simon Hiscocks (both from Portland, UK), Olympic bronze medalists, also clinched their series early.

Several of yesterday's leaders used today's 16-18 knot breezes to continue their lead. In the Laser class, British sailor Paul Goodison (Rotherham) increased his point spread, standing 11 points ahead of France's Felix Pruvot (Brest) going into tomorrow's finals. Goodison's fellow countryman Nick Dempsey (Weymouth), the leader since day one in the Neil Pryde RS:X Men's fleet, won all three races of the day. The week's consistent leaders in the Women's 470, Great Britain's Christina Bassadone (Southampton) and Saskia Clark (West Mersea) have also maintained their lead. In the Tornado class, John Lovell (New Orleans, La.) and Charlie Ogletree (Kemah, Texas) started off the day with a win and followed it with an 11th, but counted it as their dropout.

The day didn't go as well for Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.), who until today was the consistent leader in the Laser Radial class. She started out by winning the first race of the day, but an OCS in today's second race for starting prematurely caused her to lose her grip on the regatta, adding 48 points to her total score. She now stands in third place overall with no chance of winning. That battle for the regatta title will now be between today's new leader Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) and Canada's Jennifer Spalding (Vancouver, BC).

In the Paralympic class Sonar, skipper Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.) is closing in on leader David Schroeder (Miami, Fla.). With two wins in the two races of the day, Doerr is only two points overall behind Schroeder, who has been leading the fleet since day two.

The Spanish teams of Rafael Trujillo (Santander) and Marina Alabau (Santander) took new leads in the Finn and Neil Pryde RS:X Women's classes, respectively, while Israel's Gideon Kliger and Udi Gal (Tel Aviv) rose to first overall in 470 Men's class.

(end)

US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR
Day 4 (Jan. 26, 2006) Results

Position, Skipper/Crew, Hometowns, Finishes, Total Points

49er (32 boats)
1. Chris Draper/Simon Hiscocks, both Portland, GBR, 1-3-1-[7]-1-1-4-7-5-4-2-5, 34.00
2. Piero Sibello/Gianfranco Sibello, both Alassio, ITA, 3-6-4-[OCS]-4-7-2-1-1-33/OCS-1-1, 63.00
3. Stevie Morrison/Ben Rhodes, both Exmouth, GBR, 4-14-10-4-5-[OCS]-3-4-2-5-12-2, 65.00

470 Men (21 boats)
1. Gideon Kliger/Udi Gal, Tel Aviv, ISR, 7-4-4-[9]-2-2-1-9-5-2-2, 38.00
2. Nic Asher/Elliot Willis, Lowestoft/Sevenoaks, GBR, 4-1-3-1-3-7-8-1-3-9-[10], 40.00
3. Benjamin Bonnaud/Romain Bonnaud, both Nantes, FRA, 3-3-1-2-7-5-3-8-[OCS]-4-9, 45.00

470 Women (16 boats)
1. Christina Bassadone/Saskia Clark, Southampton/West Mersea, GBR, 2-5-2-2-1-[8]-3-3-1-1-5, 25.00
2. Ingrid Petitjean/Nadege Douroux, both Marseille, FRA, 3-1-5-4-3-2-[9]-6-2-2-1, 29.00
3. Amanda Clark/Sarah Mergenthaler, Shelter Island, N.Y./Matawan, N.J., USA, 1-[12]-1-10-7-1-11-2-6-3-3, 45.00

Finn (25 boats)
1. Rafael Trujillo, Santander, ESP, 1-1-5-3-4-[9]-2-5-1-1-1, 24.00
2. Christopher Cook, Toronto, CAN, 3-2-3-1-7-4-1-1-4-[10]-4, 30.00
3. Jonas Hoegh Christensen, DEN, 5-[OCS]-4-4-1-6-6-4-3-4-3, 40.00

Laser Full (89 boats)
1. Paul Goodison, Rotherham, GBR, 2-1-1-3-1-4-[5]-3-1-3, 19.00
2. Felix Pruvot, Brest, FRA, [8]-2-8-1-2-2-1-6-3-5, 30.00
3. Maciej Grabowski, Gdynia, POL, 3-1-1-4-4-7-[13]-2-7-12, 41.00

Laser Radial (47 boats)
1. Anna Tunnicliffe, Plantation, Fla., USA, [9]-6-2-4-8-4-3-2-4-7, 40.00
2. Jennifer Spalding, Vancouver, CAN, 12-2-[17]-3-6-2-2-9-2-12, 50.00
3. Paige Railey, Clearwater, Fla., USA, 1-1-1-10-[OCS]-1-1-1-48/OCS-1, 65.00

Neil Pryde RS:X Men (39 boards)
1. Nick Dempsey, Weymouth, GBR, 2-1-1-1-1-[5]-1-1-1, 9.00
2. Nicolas Huguet, Marseille, FRA, 1-2-5-2-6-1-3-4-[10], 24.00
3. Ivan Pastor, Santander, ESP, 5-4-[12]-3-4-2-5-8-12, 43.00

Neil Pryde RS:X Women (20 boards)
1. Marina Alabau, Santander, ESP, 3-[OCS]-4-1-1-5-1-1-1, 17.00
2. Bryony Shaw, Weymouth, GBR, 1-3-1-3-2-1-[6]-2-4, 17.00
3. Lucy Horwood, Wales, GBR, 2-5-5-[11]-3-2-2-3-2, 24.00

Sonar (6 boats)
1. David Schroeder/Keith Burhans/Bill Mauk, Miami, Fla./Rochester, N.Y./Miami, Fla., USA, 1-2-1-1-1-1-[DSQ]-1-2-3, 13.00
2. Rick Doerr/Ezra Culver/Mike Ross, Clifton, N.J./Miami, Fla./Encinitas, Calif., USA, 2-1-[3]-2-2-3-1-2-1-1, 15.00
3. Carwile Leroy/Ali Soylu/Carlos Rodriguez, USA, [4]-4-2-3-3-2-2-3-3-4, 26.00

Star (69 boats)
1. Xavier Rohart/Pascal Rambeau, Martigues/La Rochelle, FRA, 1-9-[26]-1-6-3-1-5-2, 28.00
2. George Szabo/Eric Monroe, San Diego, Calif./Coronado, Calif., USA, 14-4-5-10-[19]-13-12-1-17, 76.00
3. Andrew Horton/Brad Nichol, Newport, R.I./Miami Beach, Fla, 2-[25]-2-19-4-6-23-13-13, 82.00

Tornado (25 boats)
1. John Lovell/Charlie Ogletree, New Orleans, La./Kemah, Texas, USA, 1-1-2-8-2-4-1-7-1-[11], 27.00
2. Johannes Polgar/Florian Spalteholz, Danisch-Nienhof, GER, 7-5-1-[10]-4-5-4-9-4-8, 47.00
3. Olivier Backes/Paul-Ambroise Sevestre, Marseille/Fontanes, FRA, 3-11-7-1-7-8-[12]-3-8-1, 49.00

Yngling (14 boats)
1. Sally Barkow/Deborah Capozzi/Carrie Howe, Nashotah, Wis./Bayport, N.Y./Grosse Pointe, Mich., USA, 1-1-1-3-1-1-2-[5]-1-1-1-1, 13.00
2. Monica Azon/Sandra Azon/ Graciela Pisonero, all Santander, ESP, 3-2-2-[9]-2-4-1-6-3-7-6, 36.00
3. Sarah Ayton/Sarah Webb/Victoria Rawlinson, all Weymouth, GBR, 2-4-4-4-[11]-3-3-4-4-2-7, 37.00