Daily summary: Under dark skies and light wind on the racecourse, day 5 of ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyères concluded the final series to determine the top 10 sailors/teams advancing to the medal round. Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha advanced in Women’s 470 and are in 7th overall, tied on points with Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar (AUT). For the balance of American sailors, today marked the conclusion of the regatta. Full results are posted on the event’s website.
Performance highlights:
• Annie Haeger (East Troy, Wis.) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.) went into the final day of the series in third overall, with a plan on qualifying for the medal race. They met their goal and will now face the remaining nine top teams in the original 30-boat fleet.
“Today we did not sail the way we were hoping to, but the points are super close between all the boats for tomorrow’s medal races and we still in podium contention,” said Provancha.
She explained that the conditions were light, shifty and very challenging, which lead to unwelcome race scores. “The first race, we were scored an OCS, which was not ideal. We tried to shake it off for the second race. We started in a pretty conservative spot, and halfway up the beat, the breeze got lighter and extremely inconsistent. It was very tricky sailing and we were lucky to have finished 13th.”
Going into the medal round, the duo are in contention for a medal. “We did the best we could to hang in there mentally today and we are going to race hard for a medal tomorrow,” said Provancha.
The medal round takes place on Saturday, April 27 and two races are scheduled to begin at 12:20 (local time) in the Women’s 470. Points scored in medal stage races are doubled and non-excludable to the overall points score. To follow live from the race course, follow @USSailingTeam on Twitter.
• Sydney Bolger (Long Beach, Calif.) and Sarah Lihan (New York, N.Y.) ended just shy of advancing in Women’s 470. They ended the regatta in 13th. Although the regatta ended earlier than they both would like, they were positive about the experience.
“Sydney and I decided to do this regatta at last minute and we’re really glad we and got some more experience sailing together,” said Lihan.
“We had some high points and low points. We managed to pull out two race wins, which is always feels good, and we also very clearly saw what our weaknesses are. Moving forward we have a really good idea of what we’re we need to do and what it takes to get there.”
Watch an exclusive video with Bolger and Lihan http://youtu.be/ILpfg_YPrxE
• Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) ended his regatta 22nd in the 113-boat Laser fleet. “I had a tough event,” he said. “I don’t feel like I performed very well. I never really got in the groove all week.”
He had his best performance in the series final race where he finished 4th. “I got a good start and sailed the race that I wanted to,” he said. “It’s pretty much the only race I got to do that the whole regatta. It felt good to get it in and end on a high note, for sure.”
To listen to the full audio interview https://soundcloud.com/ussailingteam/charlie-buckingham-recaps
Standings to date for U.S. athletes:
7th, 470 Women – Anne Haeger (East Troy, Wis.) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.)* 6-2-4-9-8OCS-13 [advanced to medal round]
Final standings for U.S. athletes:
13th, 470 Women – Sydney Bolger (Long Beach, Calif.) and Sarah Lihan (New York, N.Y.) * **
15th, 49er FX – Kristen Lane (Tiburon, Calif.) and Christine Neville (Oakland, Calif.) **
16th, Finn – Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.)*
16th, RS:X Women – Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.)
22nd, Laser – Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.)*
26th, 49er – Fred Strammer (Nokomis, Fla.) and Zach Brown (San Diego, Calif.)* retired from racing
32nd, 49er – Ryan Pesch (Vineyard Haven, Mass.) and Trevor Burd (Marblehead, Mass.)*
41st, 49er – Brad Funk (Miami, Fla.) and Erik Aakhus (Corona del Mar, Calif.)**
41st, Finn – Gordon Lamphere (Lake Forest, Ill.)* 4-7-11-11-17-6-BFD
69th, Laser – Erik Bowers (Excelsior, Minn.) 11-6-15-42-15-BFD-15
Full results: http://swc.ffvoile.com/
* Denotes member of US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider
** Denotes member of US Sailing Development Team
About the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider
The US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider is managed by the United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for the sport of sailing and sailboat racing. The top boats in each Olympic and Paralympic class are selected annually to be members of the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider. US Sailing supports these elite athletes with funding, coaching and training. The title sponsor of the team is Sperry Top-Sider and April 24 marks the one year anniversary of the Team’s partnership. Other sponsors include Harken Team McLube. Yale Cordage is a supplier. Oakcliff Sailing is an official training center.
The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and growth for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US Sailing offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.
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Photos are available for editorial useby request. Contact: Dana Paxton, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider, 401-683-0800, x615, danapaxton@ussailing.org