The 182 sailors from 45 countries will begin their first of five days of fleet racing on Monday, January 20 at the 2020 Hempel World Cup Series Miami, USA. Sailors will be competing for positions in the Medal Races this Saturday, January 25.
The weather for Monday features mostly cloudy skies with a chance of showers. A cold front has moved through and cooler air will filter down from the North. A light Northwest breeze this morning will turn North later in the morning. The wind speed this morning will be in the 5-10 knot range, increasing this afternoon to 10-14 knots. The high temp for Monday is 74 degrees.
Start times are posted. Updates were made to start times on Sunday night to the Men’s Laser, Women’s 470, Men’s RS:X, and Women’s RS:X.
Morning Quote: Meredith Brody, Event Co-Chair
“It is wonderful to bring the world’s stage to the waters of Biscayne Bay. This year we will have 50 nations racing, many of which are vying for spots to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Games. Miami has been supporting this event for over three decades and has provided a consistent spot on the international racing calendar bringing the best of the best to the U.S.”
Ahead of the Hempel World Cup Series event in Miami, USA, sailors and officials teamed up on Friday 17 January to rescue a coral reef.
The expedition, led by World Sailing and the University of Miami, and supported by Hempel, World Sailing’s Official Coatings Partner, and World Sailing’s Beyond Sport Climate Action Award, saw six international sailors alongside further officials become citizen scientists.
Throughout the four-hour expedition, the sailors were able to learn about the stresses on coral reefs such as climate change and pollution before planting over 150 staghorn corals that had been nursery-reared by the University.
Laser Radial sailors Estere Kumpina (LAT), Valeria Lomatchenko (RUS) and Philipine van Aanholt (ARU), Finn sailors Kyle Martin (CAN) and Alexey Selivanov (RUS) and Laser sailor Tijn van der Gulik (ARU) all participated. US Sailing also supported through the participation of their Olympic Director, Meredith Brody.
The expedition supported World Sailing’s Sustainability Agenda 2030, sailing’s bold contribution to global sustainability, with a view to providing education to international sailors as well as making a contribution to enhance the local environment through hosting a World Sailing event.
Dan Reading, Head of Sustainability at World Sailing, commented, “Today was a great opportunity for the sailors and officials to learn about the local marine environment, as well as carry out some hands-on citizen science whilst contributing to the health of the marine ecosystem.
“The regatta has partnered with the University of Miami for several years and we were excited to offer this expedition to sailors which proved to be very popular.”
Dalton Hesley, Program Manager at Rescue a Reef, said, “Today was really successful. In total we were able to outplant over 150 corals which was amazing.
“Rescue a Reef is an extension of our coral research lab at the University of Miami, with a focus on citizen science. We want to better connect with the general public and actually have them play a role in our research and restoration.
“It was great to have sailors on board. They understood how to work as a team and learned very quickly. We accomplished everything we wanted to and then some! It was a pleasure to work with everybody today.”
The sustainability focus in Miami did not end there. On Saturday 18 January, a mangrove clean was held for sailors and the local community.
Seventy youth sailors from a number of local sailing clubs joined Olympic sailors and hopefuls all working together to pick up plastic in the area. Working with local organisation ‘Send it for The Sea’ (who weighed the plastic) they were able to collect 295kg (650lbs).
This further demonstrates World Sailing’s commitment to working with local organising committees to benefit the local environment.
The Hempel World Cup Series rolls into Miami, in the sunshine state of Florida, USA from 19 – 25 January 2020 for the second instalment of the 2020 Series.
205 sailors from 49 nations will race across seven fleets in Miami and the stakes are high for North American competitors. The event is the final opportunity for nations to qualify to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing Competition across the 470 and RS:X fleets, Laser, Laser Radial and Finn.
Racing commences on Monday 20 January and will conclude with seven Medal Races on Saturday 25 January, which will be broadcast live on World Sailing’s YouTube Channel.
The Laser will be the largest fleet in Miami with 49 registered sailors. A single North American spot remains available to sailors and competitors from Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, US Virgin Islands, St. Lucia, Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago will be on the start line.
Canada will have 12 Laser representatives all capable of qualifying the nation in Miami. Mexico will have four and Antigua two. The higher number of sailors, the better the chance but arguably the favourite to book his nations spot in Tokyo 2020 will be Trinidad and Tobago’s Andrew Lewis.
Lewis, a two-time Olympian after racing at London 2012 and Rio 2016, secured his first ever Hempel World Cup Series medal in Genoa, Italy last season in a tough fleet. Robert Davis of Canada will also strongly fancy his chances of qualifying after beating Lewis by two points to sixth place at the 2019 Pan Games, but with a high number of nations on the startline, the competition will be tense.
Peru’s Stefano Peschiera qualified his nation at the first time of asking at the 2018 Hempel Sailing World Championships and with a good run of results behind him, he will be a firm favourite for gold, but expect Davis, Lewis and Mexico’s Yanic Gentry to also fight for the podium.
The qualification battle will be on in the 23-boat Laser Radial fleet. Aruba’s Philipine van Aanholt, St. Lucia’s Stephanie Devaux-Lovell, Mexico’s Elena Oetling and Sofia Ximena Palacios, Puerto Rico’s Sylvette Perez Figueroa and Trinidad and Tobago’s Kelly-Ann Arrindell are all targeting Tokyo 2020.
The sailors tested themselves against each other at the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru. Mexico’s Oetling finished ahead of her rivals then by a good distance, but the experience in these situations belongs to Aruba’s van Aanholt. A London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympian, the Aruban knows what it takes to get to the Olympic start line.
A good number of leading Laser Radial sailors will be in the Miami fleet including 2019 bronze medallist and current World #4 Vasileia Karachaliou (GRE), 2019 Hempel World Cup Series Champion Viktorija Andrulyte (LTU) and Uruguay’s Dolores Moreira Fraschini.
The highest calibre of competition will be in the 470 fleets where 30 male and 18 female teams will race.
Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS), Jordi Xammar and Nico Rodriguez (ESP) and Anton Dahlberg and Fredrik Bergström (SWE) have fought for major titles over the last 12 months and regularly share the podium.
At the Enoshima triple-header in August and September, where the trio sailed at the 470 World Championships, READY STEADY TOKYO and Hempel World Cup Series Enoshima, the Australians took three golds. The Spaniards took two silver medals and a bronze and the Swedes secured a silver, bronze and a fourth place.
They will continue their fight in Miami as they aim to put a marker down ahead of Tokyo 2020. The race for Olympic qualification in North American will be between Canada and Mexico who have three teams respectively.
In the Women’s 470, Camille Lecointre and Aloise Retornaz of France have emerged as Tokyo 2020 medal favourites after they secured the 2019 Hempel World Cup Series title, gold at READY STEADY TOKYO and the 2019 European Championship. They will spearhead the Women’s 470 fleet with further contenders including Afrodite Zegers and Lobke Berkhout (NED), defending Miami champions Frederike Loewe and Anna Markfort (GER) and Silvia Mas and Patricia Cantero (ESP).
The only nation in the running for the North American Tokyo 2020 spot in the Women’s 470 is the USA. The event also acts as an American team qualifier with Nikola Barnes and Lara Dallman-Weiss, Carmen and Emma Cowles as well as Atlantic and Nora Brugman evenly-matched.
Bermuda’s Rockal Evans will face off against Mexican representatives Juan Perez Soltero and Alejandro Perez Ontiveros for the North American Tokyo 2020 Finn spot. The fleet of 15 will also see the American selection process continue. After one event, Luke Muller has an eight-point advantage over Rio 2016 bronze medallist Caleb Paine.
In the Men’s RS:X, two nations are aiming to qualify for Tokyo 2020 – Dominican Republic and Mexico. The odds are stacked in Mexico’s favour, with five-time Olympian David Mier Y Teran and youthful Ignacio Berenguer leading the charge. The Dominican Republic’s Samuel Perez Hults is relatively inexperienced in comparison to the pair, with his best result a 24th at the 2019 READY STEADY TOKYO. In total, 12 sailors will race in the Men’s RS:X fleet and the event will also act as an American qualifier for Tokyo 2020.
Nikola Girke (CAN) will make her competitive RS:X return in the 10-boat Women’s fleet. The Canadian represented her nation in the 470 at Athens 2004, the RS:X at Beijing 2008 and London 2012 and the Nacra 17 at Rio 2016. Canada is the only North American nation in the fleet who has not yet qualified so Girke will confirm the spot by completing the event.
Racing will commence at 11:00 local time on Monday 20 January 2020 and run through to Saturday 25 January where seven Medal Races will decide the 2020 Hempel World Cup Series Miami Champions.
Next week, Hempel World Cup Series Miami launches from spectacular Biscayne Bay for an important milestone on the road to the 2020 Olympic Regatta in Enoshima, Japan.
For 31 years, Biscayne Bay and Miami have been an important stop on the Olympic-class circuit. Among the 171 athletes, from 50 countries, are numerous Olympic medalists and World Champions. The Opening Series for each class starts on Monday, January 20. The top 10 athletes or teams in each of the seven classes will advance to the double-points Medal Race on Saturday, January 25. Medals will be awarded to the top three boats in each class.
Additionally, for the first time, the 2020 Hempel World Cup Series Miami is partnering with the SORC Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race to host a doublehanded offshore event. The doublehanded class event is also new for the Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race. Doublehanded offshore teams will start south of Port Everglades on Thursday, January 23 and race to Key West.
Domestic Storylines:
US Sailing Team athletes will be competing in all classes except the Laser. American athletes will be competing in all classes.
Olympic Country Qualification: In the Women’s 470 class, the U.S. athletes will have the final opportunity to qualify the United States for representation at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Because more countries compete in the Olympic classes than there are spots at the Games, the country has to qualify for representation before athletes can be named to Team USA. A U.S. Women’s 470 team must be the top North American in Miami to claim the spot for Olympic qualification. This is the last country qualification event for the United States. The U.S. is currently qualified in 8 of 10 classes (except Women’s 470 and Men’s 49er) and first in line to take a spot forfeited by another country in the Men’s 49er.
Olympic Athlete Trials: This event will impact the Olympic athlete trials for the Finns, Men’s and Women’s 470, and Men’s and Women’s RS:X. The team/individual with the lowest cumulative score of overall finishing positions at this event, the 2019 Worlds, and the 2020 Worlds will be named to Team USA (if the U.S. is qualified for representation in that class).
BRISTOL, R.I. (December 6, 2019) – For the first time in Olympic history, a Mixed Two-Person Offshore Keelboat event will be on the program at the Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Competition. But before we get to Paris 2024, the 2020 Hempel World Cup Series Miami is partnering with the Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race to host a doublehanded offshore event.
The doublehanded class event is also new for the Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race and the racing format for this class will simulate the offshore event planned for the 2024 Games.
“US Sailing is excited to work with the 2020 Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race to create a doublehanded offshore event that will help sailors and race organizers prepare for the 2024 Olympics,” said Meredith Brody, US Sailing Olympic Director and Chair of Hempel World Cup Series Miami. “As we look towards the 2024 Games, and learn more about the new discipline, we are looking forward to welcoming offshore athletes into the U.S. Olympic program.”
Carol Ewing, Chair of the Southern Ocean Racing Conference and Regatta Manager for the 2020 Hempel World Cup Series Miami echoed Brody’s comments and added, “The SORC and the Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race is pleased to incorporate doublehanded sailors into our long-standing race now in its 45th year.”
Doublehanded offshore teams will start south of Port Everglades on Thursday, January 23. The boats will race to Key West, with an expected course length of approximately 160 miles.
Racing is open to ocean racing and cruising monohull boats who comply with the requirements of the ORC (Offshore Racing Congress):
ORC Requirement: Boats must have an offshore long-distance time on time rating factor of 0.880 and lower.
The Lauderdale Yacht Club and Storm Trysail Club are the Organizing Authorities for the event, managed by the SORC.
About 2020 Hempel World Cup Series Miami In 2020, Miami will once again play host to US Sailing’s premier event, the 2020 Hempel World Cup Series Miami – the 31st year of Olympic racing on Biscayne Bay – featuring top-level Olympic-class competition. As the only North American regatta to be included in World Sailing’s 2020 Hempel World Cup Series, the regatta is a mainstay on the winter circuit for sailors campaigning for the next Olympic Games.
Competitors will have five days of fleet racing from Monday, January 20 to Friday, January 24 with medal races on Saturday, January 25. Medals will be awarded to the top three boats in each class.
Regatta Headquarters will be located at the US Sailing Center – Miami, in Coconut Grove, Miami, Fla.
The 2019 World Cup Series Miami, held out of Coconut Grove from 29 to 3 February, will see nine 2018 champions return to Biscayne Bay determined to defend their titles.
2019 marks the 30th edition of an Olympic sailing regatta in Miami and, with 650 sailors from 60 nations registered to race across ten events, it’s expected to be another strong year of competition.
Of the 2018 Miami gold medallists, Giles Scott (GBR) is the only athlete not competing this year. Across the ten events, there are 34 Olympic medallists racing alongside numerous World and World Cup podium finishers, and the best sailors will be vying for a World Cup medal as the race to Tokyo 2020 continues.
Australia’s Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin will come into Miami as favourites in the Nacra 17 after securing gold at the first round of the Hempel World Cup Series in Enoshima, Japan last September.
Waterhouse and Darmanin overthrew Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti (ITA) in the Medal Race to claim a hard-earned title – but exactly one year ago, the competition was slightly less stressful for the Aussies. Racing on the Biscayne Bay waters in 2018, Waterhouse and Darmanin controlled the fleet all week long and simply needed to finish the Medal Race to secure gold. They did that with ease and are back to defend their title.
Santiago Lange and Cecilia Carranza Saroli (ARG) and Thomas Zajac and Barbara Matz (AUT) joined them on the podium in 2018 and also return this year.
Further contenders in the 31-boat Nacra 17 fleet include Samuel Albrecht and Gabriela Nicolino de Sá (BRA), Iker Martinez and Olga Maslivets (ESP), John Gimson and Anna Burnet (GBR) and Bora Gulari and Louisa Chafee (USA).
In 2018, Louis Giard and Helene Noesmoen (right) made it a double French gold in the Men’s and Women’s RS:X windsurfer.
Both will star in their respective fleets again in 2019, but bigger fleets with strength in depth will ensure it won’t be easy for them to retain their title.
Joining Noesmoen in the 44 strong Women’s RS:X fleet will be her compatriot and Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist Charline Picon, who has been competing again for less than a year after becoming a mother post Rio 2016. Although Picon spent considerable time away from the RS:X, it was almost as if she never left as she finished second at the Hempel Sailing World Championships and seventh on Olympic waters at the Enoshima round of the Hempel World Cup Series.
After a sustained period of training and preparation, Picon will have her eyes set on overthrowing Noesmoen in Miami.
Enoshima World Cup gold medallist Peina Chen will be amongst the Women’s RS:X fleet, as will 2018 World Champion Lilian de Geus (NED) and Olympic medallists Zofia Noceti Klepacka (POL) and Bryony Shaw (GBR).
In the Men’s RS:X, a similar French battle is expected to unfold; one that has been ongoing almost immediately after Rio 2016. Giard has locked horns with compatriot Pierre Le Coq in the World Cup Series over recent years, the pair continuously sharing podiums with minimal separation. Thomas Goyard (FRA) has also been in the hunt as the fight between the French is set to resume in Miami.
The Men’s RS:X fleet will welcome 61 racers, many of whom know what it takes to stake a claim for gold.
Hopefuls for the podium include Mengfan Gao (CHN), Tom Squires (GBR), Byron Kokkalanis (GRE), Shahar Zubari (ISR), Mattia Camboni (ITA), Pawel Tarnowski (POL) and Mateo Sanz Lanz (SUI).
American hopes will be pinned on 2018 Youth World Champion, Geronimo Nores (USA).
In the 49erFX class, Germany’s Victoria Jurczok and Anika Lorenz won their first World Cup title in Miami last year and, following a mixed bag of results after that, they’ll be hoping to find that winning form once again.
Elsewhere, Rio 2016 gold medallists and 2013 and 2017 World Cup Miami winners Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA) are fully back into the Tokyo 2020 campaign trail. The pair stepped away from the 49erFX after Rio as Grael focused on a Volvo Ocean Race campaign, but they’re 100% focused on the next Olympic Games.
They showcased their skillset at the opening round of the 2019 Hempel World Cup Series in Enoshima, Japan, claiming gold, and recently won the Miami Skiff Mid-Winter Regatta, so they will be firm favourites this week.
Their long-term training partners and on-water rivals Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL) will also be in the hunt, as will Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey (GBR) and Tanja Frank and Lorena Abicht (AUT).
The final returning champions from 2018 are Dylan Fletcher-Scott and Stu Bithell (GBR). They weathered a late charge from Diego Botin and Iago Lopez Marra (ESP) last year to take gold by a single point. With the Spaniards returning as well, a familiar rivalry will resume.
A fleet of 43 will sail in the 49er, and Croatian brothers Sime and Mihovil Fantela will also be in the hunt after they emerged as serious contenders following victory at the Hempel Sailing World Championships in Aarhus last year.
Germany’s Rio 2016 bronze medallists Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel, James Peters and Fynn Sterritt (GBR) and Jonas Warrer and Jakob Precht Jensen (DEN) will also fancy their chances of a podium finish.
Returnees in the remaining classes include Tina Mrak and Veronika Macarol (SLO) in the Women’s 470, Luke Patience and Chris Grube (GBR) in the Men’s 470, Alison Young (GBR) in the Laser Radial and Tom Burton (AUS) in the Laser.
Racing is scheduled to commence on Tuesday 29 January and run through to Sunday 3 February.
The world’s leading Olympic sailors, including 34 Olympic medallists, are preparing for the second round of the Hempel World Cup Series in Miami, Florida, USA.
More than 650 sailors from 60 nations are gearing up to race on the waters of Biscayne Bay for the first big event of 2019. Racing is scheduled to commence on Tuesday 29 January and run through two days of Medal Races on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 February.
The 2020 Olympic venue in Enoshima, Japan was the last big opportunity for the world’s top sailors to test themselves as the battle to Tokyo heats up. After a few months of rest, training and intense preparations, excitement for another busy year of Olympic class sailing is high, starting with the Hempel World Cup Series event in Miami.
Luke Patience and Chris Grube (GBR) dominated the Men’s 470 fleet last year in Miami and make a return to the waters in a bid to defend their title.
Home nation hopes will be pinned on Stu McNay and Dave Hughes (USA). McNay sailed with former crew Graham Biehl one year ago, finishing seventh, but is back in the boat with his regular partner. McNay and Hughes have tasted success on the Miami waters in the past having won gold in both 2016 and 2017. They will be joined by four additional American crews who are all aiming to put the pressure on them in the chase for a spot in Tokyo.
The Men’s 470 fleet will comprise of 37 strong teams. Hempel Sailing World Championships gold medallists Kevin Peponnet and Jeremie Mion (FRA) will join the Brits and Americans as favourites but further strength is evident in the five Japanese teams, Greece’s Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis and Sweden’s Anton Dahlberg and Fredrik Bergström.
In the Women’s 470, 31 crews will fight for supremacy on Biscayne Bay.
Slovenia’s Tina Mrak and Veronika Macarol controlled the pack in 2018 and are back in Miami in a bid to make it two golds in a row. They will face stiff competition from a strong fleet of competitors, including Japan’s Ai Kondo Yoshida and Miho Yoshioka.
The Japanese duo won gold at the Hempel Sailing World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark and finish third on the podium in Miami one year ago. After finishing second at the first 2019 Hempel World Cup Series event in Enoshima, Japan, they’ll be aiming for a similar high-level performance this time.
Afrodite Zegers and Anneloes van Veen (NED) picked up gold in Enoshima ahead of the Japanese and narrowly missed out on a medal in Miami last year. Zegers has a new partner for 2019 – London 2012 bronze medallist and multiple World Champion Lobke Berkhout (NED) – so they will be ones to watch out for during the early days of their partnership.
Rio 2016 gold medallist Hannah Mills, sailing with Eilidh McIntyre (GBR), will also be on the start line, as will the experienced Fernanda Oliveira and Ana Luiza Barbachan (BRA), Camille Lecointre and Aloise Retornaz (FRA) and Poland’s Agnieszka Skrzypulec and Jolanta Ogar.
American hopes will be pinned on two-time Youth Sailing World Champions Carmen and Emma Cowles.
The 27-boat Finn fleet will be spearheaded by American favourite and Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medallist Caleb Paine, who snapped up a silver in 2018 as the accomplished Giles Scott (GBR) claimed a well-deserved title.
Paine finished a disappointing 12th at the Hempel Sailing World Championships, missing out on qualifying USA to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. He’ll have another shot at qualifying the nation at the Finn Gold Cup later this year but will be aiming to start off 2019 with another medal.
Scott won’t be in Miami to defend his title, but there is an abundance of top sailing talent who will contend for the podium. Jorge Zarif (BRA) has moved back into the Finn following his success at the Star Sailors League Final in the Bahamas and has a great pedigree racing in Miami. He has two gold medals to his name – in 2016 and 2017 – and will be targeting a third.
Further medal hopefuls in the Finn include Max Salminen (SWE), 2017 Finn Gold Cup winner, London 2012 bronze medallist Jonathan Lobert (FRA), Finland’s Tapio Nirkko and Canada’s Tom Ramshaw.
The leading lights in the Laser Radial will all be in Miami, making for one of the most competitive fights since the Hempel Sailing World Championships.
World Champion Emma Plasschaert (BEL), Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist Marit Bouwmeester (NED) and returning Miami champion Alison Young (GBR) will all feature in the 68-boat pack.
The trio have raced competitively against each other throughout the Tokyo 2020 quadrennial and, as the clock ticks down to the Olympic Games, they will be looking for opportunities to demonstrate their abilities to perform on the biggest stage.
Although Plasschaert, Bouwmeester and Young have enjoyed the recent accolades, there are also plenty of stars who have what it takes to reach the top step of the podium.
Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN), Sweden’s Josefin Olsson and Greece’s Vasileia Karachaliou have been consistent performers over the last two years and will be aiming for a medal. Dolores Moreira Fraschini (URU), Sarah Douglas (CAN), Tuula Tenkanen (FIN), Maria Erdi (HUN) and Paige Railey (USA) will also be targeting a top finish.
The Laser will be the largest fleet in Miami with 105 entrants on the start line. Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist Tom Burton (AUS) dominated the pack in 2018, winning with a day to spare. As of late, he has been locked in an intensive battle with compatriot Matt Wearn as the two fight for the single Tokyo 2020 spot for Australia. The battle will resume in Miami and is expected to be fiercer than ever.
The Laser pack does not feature Rolex World Sailor of the Year and 2017 and 2018 World Champion Pavlos Kontides (CYP) but there are numerous competitors all capable of claiming a medal.
After finishing a lowly 35th last year, Jean Baptiste Bernaz (FRA) will have his 2017 victory in mind as he aims to regain his form this time round. Nick Thompson (GBR) will be another contender; the Brit has secured five medals in Miami, two of those gold, and will be at the front of the pack once again.
Elsewhere, Elliot Hanson (GBR), Philipp Buhl (GER), Rio 2016 bronze medallist Sam Meech (NZL) and Charlie Buckingham (USA) will also be in the mix for a podium spot.
Racing is scheduled to commence on Tuesday 29 January and run through to Sunday 3 February.
For the sailors entered in the 2019 Hempel World Cup Series regatta, the racing starts on Monday, January 28, and ends with Medal Races for each class the following weekend. The racing is mentally and physically taxing, and the stakes are high. For 30 years, Olympic dreams have been made—and crushed—on Biscayne Bay. However, the end of the regatta is defined. For sailors, and others, who care about the future of the marine playing field, the race is ongoing and there is no end in sight.
In recognition of this critical battle, the organizers of the 2019 Hempel World Cup Series are committed to doing their part to reduce the environmental impact of their event while also educating competitors and spectators about what they can both on and off the water to help improve the health of the world’s oceans and inland waterways.
The 2019 Hempel World Cup Series Miami is one of four stops on World Sailing’s World Cup Series tour, the premiere competitive circuit for sailors with aspirations of representing their country at the Tokyo Games in 2020. For 30 years, international sailors from around the globe have made Miami and Biscayne Bay a de facto winter training base, ensuring that the competition at the Hempel World Cup Series Miami is always of the highest level. Many of the sailors competing in the event will be standing on the podium in Tokyo in 18 months’ time.
In Miami, the sustainability initiative will be led by former US Sailing Team member Elizabeth Kratzig, who quarterbacked the award-winning sustainability effort at the 2018 Youth World Sailing Championships in Corpus Christi, Texas, last summer.
“Having been involved in this regatta as a past competitor and coach on and off since 1991, I am excited that the organizers have recognized the large impact that the World Cup Series regatta has on the local community, its resources and its waterways,” says Kratzig, a long-time Miami resident. “We want to make sure we leave Regatta Park and Biscayne Bay in better shape than we found it. We also want to provide to anyone who comes in contact with the regatta the tools to reduce their environmental impact in their day-to-day lives.”
The effort kicked off on Sunday, January 13, as US Sailing Team athletes joined sailors from around the world and other volunteers for the Coconut Grove Coastal Clean-Up. The event was organized by US Sailing in partnership with VolunteerCleanup.Org and was sponsored by World Sailing. Upwards of 100 individuals collected over 850 pounds of trash from the mangroves lining Kennedy Park, Shake-A-Leg and Prime Point Marina. The evening prior to the clean-up, volunteers and members of the general public listened to a moving presentation from ocean advocate and explorer Emily Penn.
Click here for a story and video on the Coastal Cleanup
Kratzig also has some specific goals for the regatta itself, including a drastic reduction in single-use plastics and a Clean Regattas Silver Level certification, as outlined by Sailors for the Sea.
“We have a unique opportunity to use the sport of sailing to promote environmental stewardship and sustainability not only to the competitors, race committee officials, but also to sailing fans and the local Miami community,” says Kratzig. “By following environmentally friendly practices and incorporating an educational component in the regatta festivities, we hope to lead by example and inspire changed behaviors. This year’s event will include a special emphasis on promoting environmental best practices for motorboat operation, including information on using fuel spill pads and tips for reducing fuel consumption. We are also excited about growing the educational zone at the regatta festival. This year, the festival will include interactive displays from Miami Waterkeepers, Women’s Club of Coconut Grove and University of Miami’s Rescue a Reef program, among others.
Looking further down the road, the regatta hopes to establish a robust approach to sustainability at the World Cup Series Miami, sharing best practices and setting standards and targets, reduce the World Cup Series Miami carbon footprint and promote resource efficiency and create lasting legacy programs from this event.
Spectators who come to Regatta Park to watch the Medal Races on Saturday, February 2, and Sunday, February 3, will be enjoy fun and educational activities designed to develop individual awareness of what it takes to maintain a healthy relationship with the environment.
A year and a half ago, with the majestic hills of Rio de Janeiro as a backdrop, Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.) proved that he’s not afraid of sporting’s bright lights, claiming the Finn class bronze medal in the Rio 2016 Olympics with a stirring win in the Medal Race. Earlier today, on Biscayne Bay, Paine came up big again when the pressure was its most intense, earning the Finn silver medal in the 2018 World Cup Series Miami, USA.
“For the first event back in the year and a half, it was a great result,” said Paine (above), who officially launched his campaign for Tokyo 2020 this week. “I look forward to improving that in the near future.”
Paine started the Medal Race needing to place one boat between himself and Alican Kaynar (TUR) to move from third to second in the overall standings, while also not letting Ioannis Mitakis (GRE) finish too far ahead. Giles Scott (GBR), the reigning Olympic gold medalist, had simply to finish the race to ensure himself of the gold medal.
Paine put himself in a difficult spot when his start didn’t quite go as planned. Fortunately Kaynar didn’t shine off the line either and both were quickly forced to make clearing tacks and work the right side of the course while the bulk of the fleet streaked off toward the left. While the Medal Race is short, there’s still plenty of opportunity to come back from a bad start as the smaller fleet—10 versus 26 boats in the case of Finn class—makes it easier to find clean lanes. Paine was patient, working past Kaynar on the first beat and then making the decisive move on the final run, slipping past Max Salminen (SWE) and Tapio Nirkko (FIN) to put two boats between himself and Kaynar and claim the silver medal.
“I was fortunate to be close enough to those guys [on the final run] and I saw some pressure on the downwind,” said Paine. “I just knew that was my moment to make the jump, and I worked hard as I could to make it happen. Fortunately enough, I was able to pass them by the bottom mark.”
As the top-placing American in the regatta, Paine also earned US Sailing’s Golden Torch Award.
The only other American team to sail on the regatta’s closing day was the Men’s 470 team of Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and Graham Biehl (San Francisco, Calif.). McNay and Biehl sailed together in two Olympics, but Biehl retired from Olympic competition after the 2012 Olympics and McNay teamed up with David Hughes (Miami, Fla.) to finish fourth in Rio. With Hughes recovering from a knee injury, McNay called upon his former partner to help him stay sharp.
While a seventh-place finish—they moved up one spot with a third in the Medal Race—isn’t up to McNay’s usual standards at this event, which he’s won three times, but the team’s goal this week wasn’t focused on the results.
“The results this week in Miami I think are a good indication of exactly where our team is at, performance wise,” said Malcolm Page, Chief of U.S. Olympic Sailing. “We had one medal here with Caleb Paine in the Finn, but have also had some other class results in single digits. Although this is a marker of where we are today, it’s certainly not an indicator of where we’re going. We are steadily building a process and a system to take America back to the top of the podium.”
Luke Patience and Chris Grube (GBR) just needed to beat one boat to lock up the gold medal in the Men’s 470 division. They beat eight, finishing just behind Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis (GRE) in the race. Kevin Peponnet and Jeremie Mion (FRA) finished seventh in the Medal Race, but were close enough to Anton Dahlberg and Fredrik Bergström (SWE) to hold onto the silver medal position.
“It was an amazing week,” said Peponnet. “We had light winds to begin and that was really good for us because we really want to know how well we were in these conditions, and it turns out we were really good in them. We had very strong winds towards the final days and that also turned out to be good. Overall, we are really happy because we’ve only been sailing together for six months and we’ve done so well.”
If there was a common thread to the five Medal Races on the final day of the 2018 World Cup Series Miami, USA, it was that the hard work put in early in the regatta was the key to victory. In three of the five classes, the leader coming into the day was assured or all but assured of the gold medal due to the advantage build up during the full-fleet portion of the regatta. The leaders in the other two classes had solid, if not invincible, cushions over second place.
All five class leaders going into the day stood on the top of the podium at the end of it. But there was plenty of excitement when it came to the remaining podium positions.
It was the final race of the day, in the Women’s 470 class, that proved to be the most entertaining. Regatta leaders Tina Mrak and Veronkia Macarol (SLO) gave the fleet a hint of hope by rounding the first mark in fourth. But an impressive run, which vaulted them into the lead, all but squashed any chance of another team closing the 13-point gap. The real battle settled on silver and bronze, with three teams—Afrodite Zegers and Anneloes Van Veen (NED), Agnieszka Skrzypulec and Irmina Mrózek Gliszczynska (POL) and Ai Konda Yoshida and Miho Yoshioka (JPN)—separated by 3 points going into the race and a fourth, Amy Seabright and Anna Carpenter (GBR), with an outside chance should two of the three falter.
The race turned at the bottom of the second run when Zegers and Van Veen ran into equipment issues with their spinnaker, which required Van Veen to come off the trapeze and spend a few minutes inside the boat. In the breezy conditions, this proved fatal as the fleet streaked away from the Dutch team. The Polish and Japanese teams matched each other for the second lap of the race, with Skrzypulec and Mrózek Gliszczynska maintaining the advantage and locking up the silver medal. With a 10th place in the race, Zegers and Van Veen, the defending champions at this event, dropped from second to fifth. Seabright and Anna won the Medal Race and jumped to fourth in the overall standings.
The Laser Radial was the most wide-open of the five classes, with nine of 10 sailors starting the Medal Race mathematically alive for a medal. Alison Young (GBR) had a five-point advantage over second place starting the day. But the way that Young closed the regatta—with four wins in five heavy-air races—there didn’t appear to be much chance to unseat her at the head of the class with the Medal Race being sailed in much the same conditions as the previous six races, 16 knots and choppy seas.
Young jumped out to the early lead with an impressive first beat. Mári Érdi (HUN) would slip past on the second beat, but second was more than enough for the Briton to clinch the overall title. Emma Plasschaert (BEL) played solid defense to hold on to the silver while Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN) did the same to claim bronze.
With the gold medal locked up courtesy of a 30-point advantage, Tom Burton decided to use the Medal Race to work on his starts. All evidence to the contrary—his results for the week include two race wins and eight top-seven finishes—Burton wasn’t quite satisfied with his ability to get off the line. That item will remain on his worklist as he pulled the trigger just a hair early in the Medal Race and was called OCS by the race committee. Without anything to gain or lose, Burton was content to follow the fleet around the track after re-starting. He finished ninth and still winning the class by 17 points. Nick Thompson (GBR) and Philipp Buhl (GER) were effectively tied going into the race. And Sam Meech (NZL), the bronze medalist from the Rio 2016 Olympics, was lurking just three points back.
It all looked good for Buhl (right, in red) when he rounded the first mark in sixth, with Meech in sixth and Thompson (right, in blue) in ninth. But Thompson, who was whistled for a tacking-too-close penalty on the first beat, ground back into contention. It was anyone’s race as the Lasers surfed down the final downwind leg, flicking their bows from side to side and aggressively working the short, steep chop of Biscayne Bay.
In the end, Thompson was unable to dig himself completely out of the hole created by his penalty on the first leg. Like many Olympic veterans in this regatta, however, Thompson is able to look at the big picture.
“Today was a real tricky day in Miami,” said Thompson. “I was tied with three boats going into the medal race. First place was already gone. I knew it was going to be a tough battle but, in the end, I came away with third place. It’s another year where me and Philip had a good battle. I like competing with him. He’s a great sailor.
“The penalty was my mistake. I thought I was probably okay, but the jury ultimately made the decision. Basically, I was coming in starboard and I had a boat going to duck behind me. I tacked a bit too close and that was a bit frustrating on my part. Overall, I am pleased with my performance this week. Just came to work in a few areas, and I walk away with a medal, so I feel pretty amazing.”
If there was a common thread to the five Medal Races on the final day of the 2018 World Cup Series Miami, USA, it was that the hard work put in earlier in the regatta proved the decisive component in determining the champion.
In three of the five classes, the leader coming into the day was assured or all but assured of the gold medal due to the advantage built up during the full-fleet portion of the regatta.
The leaders in the other two classes had solid, if not invincible, cushions over second place.
Not surprisingly, all five class leaders going into the day stood on the top of the podium at the end of it. But there was plenty of excitement when it came to the remaining podium positions.
It was the final race of the day, in the Women’s 470 division, that proved to be the most entertaining. Tina Mrak and Veronkia Macarol (SLO) gave the fleet a hint of hope by rounding the first mark in fourth. But an impressive run, which vaulted them into the lead, all but squashed any hope of another team closing the 13-point gap and taking over first place.
“It was a great week of sailing, particularly on the first few days of racing, we did really well,” said Mrak.
Their biggest challenge this week was sailing downwind in lighter winds.
The real battle then settled on silver and bronze with three teams, Afrodite Zegers and Anneloes Van Veen (NED), Agnieszka Skrzypulec and Irmina Mrózek Gliszczynska (POL) and Ai Kondo Yoshida and Miho Yoshioka (JPN), separated by three points going into the race and a fourth, Amy Seabright and Anna Carpenter (GBR), with an outside chance should two of the three falter.
The race turned at the bottom of the second run when Zegers and Van Veen ran into some equipment issues with their boat, which required Van Veen to come off the trapeze and spend a few minutes inside the boat.
In the breezy conditions, this was fatal as the fleet streaked away from the Dutch team. The Polish and Japanese teams matched each other for the second lap of the race, with Skrzypulec and Mrózek Gliszczynska maintaining the advantage and locking up the silver medal.
“We’ve had a week and it’s been great sharing the podium with our sparring partners. We’ve done our best and we’ve managed to achieve silver so we are blessed,” expressed Gliszczynsk.
With a 10th place in the race, Zegers and Van Veen, the defending champions at this event, dropped from second to fifth. Amy Seabright and Anna Carpenter (GBR) won the Medal Race and jumped to fourth in the overall standings.
The Laser Radial was the most wide-open of the five classes, with nine of 10 sailors starting the Medal Race mathematically alive for a medal.
Alison Young (GBR) had a five-point advantage over second place starting the day. But the way that Young closed the regatta—with four wins in five heavy-air races—there didn’t appear to be much chance to unseat her at the head of the class with the Medal Race being sailed in much the same conditions, 16 knots and choppy seas.
Young jumped out to the early lead with an impressive first beat. Mári Érdi (HUN) would slip past on the second beat, but second was more than enough for the Briton to clinch the overall title. Emma Plasschaert (BEL) played solid defense to hold on to the silver while Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN) did the same to claim bronze.
Rindom says she could improve on her hiking, “I’ve been struggling with hiking this week and that’s something I definitely need to improve on.”
With the gold medal locked up courtesy of a 30-point advantage, Tom Burton decided to use the Medal Race to work on his starts. All evidence to the contrary—including two race wins and eighth top-seven finishes in this event—Burton wasn’t quite satisfied with his ability to get off the line.
He’ll need a little more work as he pulled the trigger just a hair early and was called OCS by the race committee. Without anything to gain or lose, Burton was content to follow the fleet around the track, finishing ninth and still winning the class by 17 points.
Separated by just a point going into the race, Nick Thompson (GBR) and Philipp Buhl (GER) were effectively tied going into the race. And Sam Meech (NZL), the bronze medalist from the Rio 2016 Olympics, was lurking just three points back.
It all looked good for Buhl when he rounded the first mark in sixth, with Meech in sixth and Thompson in ninth. But Thompson ground back into contention and it was anyone’s race as the Lasers surfed down the final run, flicking side to side and aggressively working the short, steep chop of Biscayne Bay.
A year and a half ago, with the majestic hills of Rio de Janeiro as a backdrop, Caleb Paine (USA) proved that he’s not afraid of the bright lights, claiming the Finn class bronze medal in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games with a stirring win in the Medal Race. Earlier today, on Biscayne Bay, Paine came up big again, earning the Finn silver medal.
Paine started the Medal Race needing to place one boat between himself and Alican Kaynar (TUR) to move from third to second in the overall standings, while also not letting Ioannis Mitakis finish too far ahead. Giles Scott (GBR), the reigning Olympic Medalist, had simply to finish the race to ensure himself of the gold medal.
Scott shares his secret on his this week, “I think consistency in the top positions is key and that applies to most fleets.
“The trick is just to say steady and easy into it at the start and don’t do anything outstanding during the first couple of races of an event. You just keep plugging away and try and secure the top three results. This was my strategy in Miami.”
Paine put himself in a difficult spot at the start when his plan to attack Kaynar before the start didn’t quite go as planned, forcing both sailors to make an early clearing tack and work the right side of the course while the bulk of the fleet streaked off toward the left.
While the Medal Race is short, there’s still plenty of opportunity to come back from a bad start as the smaller fleet—10 versus 26 boats in the case of Finn—makes it easier to find clean lanes. Paine was patient, working himself past Kaynar on the first beat and then making the decisive move on the final run, slipping past Max Salminen (SWE) and Tapio Nirkko (FIN) to put two boats between himself and Kaynar and claim the silver medal.
In the Men’s 470, Luke Patience and Chris Grube (GBR) won gold. The pair lead the fleet majority of the week and triumphant by a 27-point margin ahead of the French, Kevin Peponnet and Jeremie Mion, who took silver.
Peponnet and Mion have only sailed together for six months and they walk away with silver medals, “Overall we are really happy because we’ve only been sailing together for six months and we’ve done so well. Our height and weight is perfect, that’s what us perform better than most in the fleet.” Said Peponnet.
Anton Dahlberg and Fredrik Bergström (SWE) claimed bronze in Men’s 470.
The 182 sailors from 45 countries will begin their first of five days of fleet racing on Monday, January 20 at the 2020 Hempel World Cup Series Miami, USA. Sailors will be competing for positions in the Medal Races this Saturday, January 25.
The effort kicked off on Sunday, January 13, as US Sailing Team athletes joined sailors from around the world and other volunteers for the Coconut Grove Coastal Clean-Up. The event was organized by US Sailing in partnership with VolunteerCleanup.Org and was sponsored by World Sailing. Upwards of 100 individuals collected over 850 pounds of trash from the mangroves lining Kennedy Park, Shake-A-Leg and Prime Point Marina. The evening prior to the clean-up, volunteers and members of the general public listened to a moving presentation from ocean advocate and explorer Emily Penn.
While a seventh-place finish—they moved up one spot with a third in the Medal Race—isn’t up to McNay’s usual standards at this event, which he’s won three times, but the team’s goal this week wasn’t focused on the results.
