Pictured: Paige Railey, Laser Radial.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2015
Miami, Fla.- Day 5 of ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, Presented by Sunbrella, saw the stage set for the Saturday’s medal races in the Olympic classes, while on the Paralympic side US Sailing Team Sperry athletes Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J), Brad Kendell (Tampa, Fla.) and Hugh Freund (South Freeport, Maine) secured a silver medal in the three-person Sonar. Sailing conditions came full circle on Friday, as a week which began with winds over 30mph on Monday gave way to a glassy calm for much of the final day of gold and silver fleet action. 7 of 10 Olympic classes were able to finish at least one race, while none of the Paralympic classes were able to sail on their final day of competition.
“It was a challenge to get my body up to speed for the competition,” said Doerr, a disabled world champion who recently underwent surgery on his hip that nearly sidelined him for the regatta. “My crew pulled the lion’s share of the weight. I took it a day at a time, and a race at a time.” Kendell said the week was a battle from the start. “Monday [with the heavy breeze] was the toughest day, and we definitely fought through that challenge. It tired us out, but Rick inspired Hugh and I, in that if he can fight through it, we can fight through it.” Freund noted that in trying to adapt to their skipper’s health, they learned some strategies that will make them a stronger team going forward. “We were able to learn really quickly and figure out what was working well. We’re going to be able to capitalize on that in the future. It’s been a great start to 2015.”
Pictured: Rick Doerr, Brad Kendell and Hugh Freund, Sonar.
On the Olympic side, the US Sailing Team Sperry will have a shot at a medal in the women’s Laser Radial class, where veteran athlete Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla) is 16 points from bronze, and 19 points from the lead. Getting on the podium in the double-points medal race will be a tough task, but nobody in the fleet is ruling out Railey, an Olympian, World Champion, and ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year. “Medal races are very strategic, and dependent on the points situation,” said Railey. “You need to adjust to the facts at hand each time you go into one. You can control the situation a lot. The points total helps you decide on if you are going on the offensive or staying on the defensive.” The Laser Radial medal race is scheduled for 11:45AM EST on Saturday.
In the men’s heavyweight Finn class, Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.) completed the sailing equivalent of American football’s “hail mary” pass to get into the medal race on Friday. Paine found himself deep in the pack in the first race of the day, but successfully worked his way back by finding more pressure far on the edge of the racecourse during the second beat. “He passed at least 15 boats. It was awesome,” said Paine’s coach, 1992 silver medalist Brian Ledbetter (Seattle, Wash.). “I took a risky puff on one side of the course and passed all of those boats in less than 5 knots. It was stressful,” said Paine. “Overall this week, we had a major equipment breakdown and I couldn’t find my downwind speed. I didn’t feel like my equipment was perfect, with most of my latest stuff being in Europe or down in Rio de Janeiro. It’s something I’ll have to work on.” Paine will compete in the medal race starting at 11:00AM EST.
The US Sailing Team Sperry will also be represented in the medal round in the men’s Laser and 49er classes, and the women’s 470 class. “With the small fleet of 10 boats, the style of racing might be different in the medal race but the preparation beforehand is exactly the same,” said Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.), who will compete in the Laser medal race at this event for the 4th consecutive year. In the 470, #2 world ranked Annie Haeger (East Troy, Wisc.) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.) said that they will be in “total offense mode” to try to improve their 9th place position. In the 49er, Brad Funk (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and Trevor Burd (Marblehead, Mass.) return to the medal race a year after winning silver at the 2014 edition of ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami.
US Sailing Team Sperry medal race schedule:
Live GPS Tracking: http://miami.ussailing.org
Course Area Alpha:
- 1100 – Laser Medal Race (Charlie Buckingham)
- 1145 – Radial Medal Race (Paige Railey)
- 1330 – 49er Medal Race (Brad Funk and Trevor Burd)
Course Area Bravo:
- 1100 – Finn Medal Race (Caleb Paine)
- 1415 – 470 Women Medal Race (Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha)
Pictured: Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha, Women’s 470.
Notable US Results, Overall: Day 5
Full Results: http://bit.ly/1CtjaBY
- Rick Doerr, Brad Kendell and Hugh Freund, 2nd overall
Laser Radial Women
- Paige Railey, 4th overall
- Haddon Hughes, 11th overall
49er Men (54 boats)
- Brad Funk and Trevor Burd, 8th overall
Laser Men (103 boats):
- Charlie Buckingham, 9th overall
470 Women (30 boats):
- Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha, 9th overall
- John Ruf, 9th overall
- Daniel Evans, 10th overall
Finn Heavyweight Men (40 boats):
- Caleb Paine, 9th overall
RS:X Women (38 boards):
- Marion Lepert, 16th overall
US Sailing Team Sperry Report Archive: ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami 2015
- ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami: USA Preview
- ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami: Day 1
- ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami: Day 2
- ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami: Day 3
- ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami: Day 4
ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami 2015 Media Guide:
Event Website: http://miami.ussailing.org
US Sailing Team Live Updates: www.Twitter.com/USSailingTeam
US Sailing Team Daily Reports: www.ussailing.org/olympics
Social Media (Facebook): www.Facebook.com.USSailingTeam
Social Media (Instagram): www.Instagram.com.USSailingTeam
Photos (Daily): www.usst.photoshelter.com
The Medalist Newsletter: Winter 2014/2015 Issue
The Medalist is out! Winter 2014/2015 Issue: http://bit.ly/1JQNFSQ Subscribe: http://eepurl.com/EZH6D
Featured In This Issue:
- Mid-Quad Measure
- Sunbrella Arrives
- Snapshots
- Rising Tide: Two New Episodes!
- Olympic Trials Q&A
- Medals in Abu Dhabi
- NYYC & SFNY Renew Support
- Groupe Beneteau Joins the Team
- Quotables from Social Media
About the US Sailing Team Sperry
The US Sailing Team Sperry 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. US Sailing helps these elite athletes with with financial, logistical, coaching, technical, fitness, marketing and communications support. The title sponsor of the team is Sperry; other sponsors include Gold-Level partner Sunbrella and Silver-Level partners Harken, Team McLube and Groupe Beneteau. Yale Cordage is a team supplier. The US Sailing Center Miami is an Olympic training site. Oakcliff Sailing and Clearwater Community Sailing Center are US Sailing Team Sperry Training Centers. Chubb Personal Insurance sponsors US Sailing’s National Team Tour, a nationwide presentation program for US Sailing Team Sperry athletes. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org/olympics