Pictured: Men’s 470 regatta leaders Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.), US Sailing Team Sperry.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 26, 2016
Miami, Fla. – While light and tricky conditions remained prevalent on the second day of ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, Presented by Sunbrella, American sailors and US Sailing Team Sperry athletes continued to turn in strong performances across multiple classes. This event serves as the first of two U.S. Olympic and Paralympic selection regattas for nine classes, and the pressure to turn in a peak performance is palpable both in boat parks and on race courses in Miami.
Leading the way for the US Sailing Team Sperry was the veteran men’s 470 pair of two-time Olympian Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.). The day could not have gone better for the reigning North American and European Champions, and they walked away with two wins in two races. “We were quite happy with our day, but each race was definitely a battle throughout,” said McNay. Hughes noted that the 21-boat fleet size, combined with the high quality of competition, was optimal practice for the Olympic Games. “You always want as many boats as possible at the event, but this size is relevant to the Olympic regatta, and just getting used to racing in that type of fleet. Top quality players are here, and it’s wonderful to have an event like this in home waters.”
In the Men’s Laser, North American Champion Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) cut his position in half, jumping from 32nd overall to 14th. Buckingham scored a 5th in the first race of the day, but found himself deep in the fleet on the second race before recovering to 17th. “Considering the conditions,” said Buckingham, “I was happy to come away with a decent average.”
Pictured: 49er class racing at Sailing World Cup Miami 2015.
The U.S. story of the day in the 49er class was the surge in performance by Beijing 2008 Laser Olympian Thomas Barrows (St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.) and Joe Morris (Annapolis, Md.). The former college teammates have been campaigning together for three years, and their experience is beginning to show. Barrows and Morris jumped from 13th to 7th overall after scoring 11,10,7,1 on the day. “We’re happy with how things went, and we got better throughout the day,” said Morris. “We had four races with consistent scores, and that is big going into last day of qualifying. We’ve put in a lot of days on the water in the last two months, which was a critical component of putting this regatta together.”
In the Laser Radial, Olympian and World Champion Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) jumped from 29th overall to 16th after scoring a 5th in the day’s lone race. Railey is now locked in a dead heat with US Sailing Team Sperry teammate and Laser Radial Youth World Champion Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) in the standings.
The US Sailing Team Sperry Paralympic Sonar team of Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), Brad Kendell (Tampa, Fla.) and Hugh Freund (South Freeport, Maine) ended their day with an exclamation point as they record a race win. “We just started clear of other boats, and rode a steady shift to cross the fleet on the first beat,” said Freund, the bowman.
An exciting contest is brewing at the top of the Nacra 17 fleet, as two-time U.S. Olympian Mark Mendelblatt (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Olympian Carolina Mendelblatt (St. Petersburg, Fla.) stand in 4th overall after five races, just ahead of US Sailing Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Bora Gulari (Detroit, Mich.) and Louisa Chafee (Warwick, R.I.).
Pictured: Two-time U.S. Olympian Mark Mendelblatt (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Olympian Carolina Mendelblatt (St. Petersburg, Fla.), Nacra 17.
In the 49erFX, the battle tightened up as the light conditions made it difficult to stay consistent. Skiff Youth World Champion Emily Dellenbaugh (Easton, Conn.) and Elizabeth Barry (Riverside, Conn.) remain the top Americans overall in 22nd, but a rally at the end of the day by the US Sailing Team Sperry’s Paris Henken (Coronado, Calif.) and Helena Scutt (Kirkland, Wash.), bronze medalists at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games, put them just behind in 23rd. “We feel like we’re sailing well, but not seeing it translate into results just yet,” said Scutt. “We rounded the first mark in the top ten every race today, but until the last race we just couldn’t stay there. We have to keep believing in each other, and go out there for the rest of the week and sail like we know we can.”
The Finn fleet continued to find only bad luck on the weather front, and was unable to start a race in the glassy conditions on their course. For all competitors, the challenge is to stay mentally and physically sharp for tomorrow’s racing. “You feel a little let down after getting excited to race,” said Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.). “You have to be able to adapt. That’s just sailboat racing.”
Pictured: Paris Henken (Coronado, Calif.) and Helena Scutt (Kirkland, Wash.), 49erFX, US Sailing Team Sperry.
LIVE Video Coverage on ESPN3: Saturday, January 30 at 11:00AM EST
Racing at Sailing World Cup Miami, Presented by Sunbrella, continues on Tuesday, January 26th and runs through Saturday, January 30th, which will feature medal races and the closing ceremony. World Sailing will produce and broadcast live video coverage of most of Olympic-class medal races. In North America, the racing will be broadcast online via ESPN3.
The racing will be available to watch in 2D and 3D via World Sailing’s live tracking system. Live tracking via the Sailviewer-3D Tablet app will also be available for devices with 7″ or greater screens. This app comes in iOS and Android versions.
Sailing World Cup Miami: USA Results
Sailing World Cup Miami is a U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Team Selection event for the following classes: 2.4mR, 49er, 49erFX, Finn, Laser, Laser Radial, Nacra 17, RS:X Men, RS:X Women.
2.4mR (Open One-Person Paralympic Keelboat): 10 boats
- 4th overall, Charlie Rosenfield (Woodstock, Conn.), US Sailing Team Sperry
- 5th overall, Dee Smith (Annapolis, Md., pictured), US Sailing Team Sperry
Men’s 470 (Men’s Two-Person Dinghy): 21 boats
- 1st overall, Stuart McNay (Providence, R.I.) and David Hughes (Miami, Fla.)
Nacra 17 (Mixed Two-Person Multihull): 47 boats
- 4th overall, Mark Mendelblatt and Carolina Mendelblatt (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
- 5th overall, Bora Gulari (Detroit, Mich.) and Louisa Chafee (Warwick, R.I.), US Sailing Development Team
- 29th overall, Sarah Newberry (Miami, Fla.) and Matthew Whitehead (Panama City, Fla.), US Sailing Team Sperry
Finn (Men’s One-Person Heavyweight Dinghy): 46 boats
- 7th overall, Luke Muller (Ft. Pierce, Fla.), US Sailing Development Team
- 8th overall, Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.), US Sailing Team Sperry
- 12th overall, Phil Toth (Los Angeles, Calif.), US Sailing Team Sperry
- 13th overall, Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.)
49er (Men’s Two-Person High Performance Skiff): 61 boats
- 7th overall, Thomas Barrows (St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.) and Joe Morris (Annapolis, Md.)
- 14th overall, Judge Ryan (San Diego, Calif.) and Hans Henken (Coronado, Calif.)
- 25th overall, Brad Funk (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Trevor Burd (Marblehead, Mass.)
Sonar (Open Three-Person Paralympic Keelboat): 9 boats
- 5th overall, Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), Brad Kendell (Tampa, Fla.) and Hugh Freund (South Freeport, Maine), US Sailing Team Sperry
- 7th overall, Andrew Fisher (Greenwich, Conn.) Daniel Evans (Miami, Fla.) and Tom Brown (Northeast Harbor, Maine), US Sailing Team Sperry
Women’s 470 (Women’s Two-Person Dinghy): 17 boats
- 8th overall, Sydney Bolger (Long Beach, Calif.) and Carly Shevitz (Santa Barbara, Calif.), US Sailing Team Sperry
Laser Radial (Women’s One-Person Dinghy): 60 boats
- 16th overall, Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.), US Sailing Team Sperry
- 17th overall, Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), US Sailing Team Sperry
Laser (Men’s One-Person Dinghy): 98 boats
- 14th overall, Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.), US Sailing Team Sperry
- 17th overall, Erik Bowers (Excelsior, Minn.), US Sailing Development Team
49erFX (Women’s Two-Person High Performance Skiff): 34 boats
- 22nd overall, Emily Dellenbaugh (Easton, Conn.) and Elizabeth Barry (Riverside, Conn.), US Sailing Development Team
- 23rd overall, Paris Henken (Coronado, Calif.) and Helena Scutt (Kirkland, Wash.)
- 27th overall, Genny Tulloch (San Francisco, Calif.) and Maggie Shea (Chicago, Ill.)
Women’s RS:X (Women’s Board): 37 boards
- 16th overall, Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.), US Sailing Team Sperry
- 27th overall, Marion Lepert (Belmont, Calif.), US Sailing Team Sperry
Men’s RS:X (Men’s Board): 48 boards
- 18th overall, Pedro Pascual (West Palm Beach, Fla.), US Sailing Team Sperry
- 22n overall, Carson Crain (Houston, Texas), US Sailing Team Sperry
Previous Reports
- Day 1: Light Air, Nerves On First Day of Sailing World Cup Miami
- Event Preview: Key US Sailing Team Sperry Names and Facts Heading Into Miami
Event Information
Follow the US Sailing Team Sperry
- US Sailing Team Sperry Home
- Sign Up For Team News
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 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 and the Gowrie Group 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
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. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org
– end –
Press Contact: Will Ricketson, Olympic Communications Manager, US Sailing. willricketson@ussailing.org, +1 (978) 697-2384.