Numbers, Numbers, Numbers

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Numbers are cruel.

At ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, presented by Sunbrella, 716 sailors came to compete in ten Olympic classes. Five days of qualifying races ended Friday. Now ten boats advance in each of those ten classes. Allowing for double-handed boats, that computes to 150 sailors on the water for the Medals Races on Saturday.  The other 566, all of them hopeful, all of them skilled, are free to go.

The Finns actually got two races sailed in winds down to 4 knots at times. A little heel to weather was in order.

Photo by Walter Cooper

Photo by Walter Cooper

The most bitter loss on Friday, of course, was to place 11th.

On Saturday, with three medals per class, make that fourth.

The Paralympic classes have completed their dance cards. They don’t sail a medals race. And it’s just possible that Norway’s Bjornar Erikstad is still grinning from Thursday’s race seven. That was the one where his two closest competitors, both leading him in the standings, were OCS (On Course Side, aka over early at the countdown to the starting signal) and he was “OSS” or – no, this one’s not in the official book – On Start Side. Where you want to be.

And then the wind dropped out.

And time ran out on completing the dance card. Erikstad was left right there. Stuck in gold.

Numbers are cruel. Timing is everything.

For a class by class summary, here is your link: http://www.sailing.org/news/39683.php

SAF Sailing World Cup Miami 2015, presented by Sunbrella, is sponsored by Beneteau, Jeanneau, Lagoon, Sperry Top-Sider, Chubb, and the City of Miami. Thank you to our supplying sponsors at Harken, McLube, Coral Reef Sailing Apparel, University of Miami Health System, Vetus-Maxwell, and Adventure Sports.

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