Light wind limitations at Hempel World Cup Series Miami

Through four days of action-packed racing on Biscayne Bay, the athletes competing at the 2020 Hempel World Cup Series Miami have experienced a vast array of conditions.

Cold temperatures, wind chill, rain, strong breeze, and more typical South Florida conditions have challenged the 182 sailors from 45 nations.

The challenge has been real on the Bay and this has created exciting racing and a level of unpredictability adding more intrigue to this year’s annual Olympic class regatta in Miami.

Heading into Thursday’s racing the Finn, Laser, Laser Radial, and Men’s and Women’s 470 had completed six races, while the Men’s and Women’s RS:X finished nine.

However, the breeze failed to cooperate for most of Thursday, as rain showers sporadically dampened the sailing venue, and racing was limited after lengthy postponements.

The RS:X women and men managed just one race each. Japan’s Megumi Komine won her third race of the regatta in Race 10 and is now in second place behind fleet leader Demita Vega de Lille of Mexico by three points. Farrah Hall of the United States is in third place and five points back.

On the men’s side of the RS:X fleet, Pedro Pascual (USA) won his fourth race of the regatta to take a nine-point lead through 10 races. He leads Ignacio Berenguer of Mexico, who is in second place, and fellow American Geronimo Nores, who is in third. Nores was second to Pascual today and has placed either first (4) or second (2) in each of the last six races to make a charge up the leaderboard.

American Caleb Paine won his fourth race of the regatta in Race 7 of the Finn class. He was third in Race 8 and leads by 17 points over Luke Muller (USA). Oisin McClelland of Ireland is in third.

Hugh Macrae of Canada won the only Laser race of the day and has placed in the top two of the last couple races of the regatta. Argentina’s Francisco Guaragna Rigonat came second and continues to lead the pack through seven races.

“We launched mid-morning and the race didn’t start until 3 o’clock, so there was a lot of waiting, trying and failing,” said Macrae. “We finally we got one off. There was hiking but again it changed midway to light wind, but I managed to get away with a win. I didn’t make the mistakes I’ve been making and it’s now showing.”

There was no racing today in the Laser Radial class, however, Aruba’s Philipine van Aanholt is excited to be back in Miami and sailing again in the Laser Radial after some time away. The two-time Olympian and several other sailors representing North American and Caribbean nations are also trying to qualify for Tokyo 2020.

“This week has been quite challenging. We’ve had lots of different conditions – mostly breezy. I’ve really enjoyed it,” said van Aanholt. “Yesterday was a bit too much. In the last race I was really tired, but it was fun and very shifty like Miami always is. The first couple of days I could really read the shifts well and yesterday in the last race I had some problems. Everybody is bringing it so it’s fun.”

“I came in really late for this campaign,” she added. “I sailed the Rio and London Games, but I haven’t been full-time sailing in a really long time. I do have a full-time job, which is why I came early to prepare. I have had to focus on myself but, of course you look at the competition and it’s tough. There are a lot of girls going for that one spot.”

As it stands, Elena Oetling is poised to take the single North American spot with van Aanholt 17 points off. However, with today’s Laser Radial racing postponed, three races will be sailed on Friday with plenty of possibilities.

The Men’s and Women’s 470 fleets attempted to sail but the fickle and shifting wind made things tricky for the Race Committee team so no racing was possible.

Heading into Friday’s action, Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS) top the tree in the men’s division and France’s Camille Lecointre and Aloise Retornaz are in control in the women’s.

An additional race is scheduled for the 470s, Laser Radial and Laser on Friday 24 January with an earlier start time of 10:30.

Find out how to follow the event below:
 
EVENT WEBSITE
Click here for further information on Miami and the Hempel World Cup Series – https://miami.ussailing.org/.
 
ENTRIES / RESULTS / SCHEDULE
Click here to view the entry list in full.
 
Click here for the schedule.
 
Results will be available here – http://sailing.org/worldcup/results/index.php.
 
WATCH
Daily highlights and live streamed Medal Races on Saturday 25 January will be available across the World Sailing YouTube Channel. Click here to subscribe.
 
Saturday Medal Races – Men’s and Women’s 470, Laser, Radial, Finn and Men’s and Women’s RS:X will be available to watch here.
 
SAP SAILING ANALYTICS
Live tracking, sailor analytics, live weather data and racing status will be available on the SAP Sailing Analytics here – http://hwcs2020-round2.sapsailing.com/.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow the event on World Sailing’s social networks and get involved in the conversation using #hwcsmiami
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PRESS RELEASES
All World Sailing international press releases throughout the duration of the Hempel World Cup Series, including the latest news and reports, are available to read here – http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/news/index.php.
 
HEMPEL WORLD CUP SERIES
The World Cup Series is a world-class, annual series of Olympic sailing for elite and professional sailors. Over 2,000 of the World’s leading sailors, representing over 75 nations have competed in the World Cup Series which offers a definitive guide to the best-of-the-best in the Olympic sailing world.