Sailors and their coaches made the most of their down time for the third consecutive day, as rain showers and little breeze put a dampen on the racing outlook on Wednesday. The light air theme so far this week has forced sailors to use their extended onshore hours to acclimate to the conditions and adjust their equipment accordingly.

The 10 Olympic and three Paralympic fleets finally launched at around 12:30 local time under cloudy skies and light breeze at 3 to 5 knots, with slight optimism that the wind would fill in this afternoon, similar to Monday and Tuesday. However, at approximately 14:00, all fleets abandoned any hope of racing and returned to shore for the day. All week, sailors have put a strong focus on boat positioning to harness what little breeze has been available on the course. Lighter crews have had the upper hand so far on Biscayne Bay.

Earlier Wednesday morning, several coaches held debriefs from Tuesday’s racing. Men’s 470 skipper Dillon Paiva (Raleigh, N.C. USA) said, “We went over several photos of 470 teams who were going well in the light air. We compared their sail shapes and set-ups. We are doing everything we can to prep for this type of racing.”

The forecast for Wednesday night includes a large band of showers and squalls moving across South Florida. For Thursday, rain showers are predicted and some models showing breeze out of the North with 9 to 12 knots of pressure. Another model shows unstable breeze all day around 3 knots.

The 2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami is sponsored by Sperry Top-Sider, Chubb, UHealth Sports Medicine / University of Miami Hospital, City of Miami, Resorts World Miami, Harken McLube, Miami Sports and Exhibition Authority (MSEA), Coral Reef Sailing Apparel, West Marine, and Oakcliff.

Photography
Access event photos via US Sailing’s Flickr.

Live Updates and Scoring
Get updates from the race course by following the event using our live Twitter feed. Click here for updated results and standings.

Tracking
Live tracking in 2D and 3D will be available during ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami.

Video
In addition, fully-produced highlight packages will be available from 30 January to 1 February. These will contain interviews, action and results, including event graphics.

Follow
For all results and information visit the ISAF Sailing World Cup website at http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/home.php.

Social Media
The @ISAFupdates and @SailingWCMiami Twitter accounts will be following the action throughout the week, follow the accounts here https://twitter.com/ISAFupdates and https://twitter.com/SailingWCMiami

ISAF Sailing World Cup Facebook
ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami Facebook

Contact
ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami Press Officer Jake Fish
jakefish@ussailing.org

About US Sailing’s ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami
Established in 1990 by US Sailing, ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami annually draws elite sailors, including Olympic and Paralympic medalists and hopefuls from around the world. The regatta is open to boats competing in events chosen for the 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition and the 2016 Paralympic Sailing Competition. The 10 Olympic classes are: Laser Radial (women), Laser (men), Finn (men), Men’s and Women’s Windsurfing, 49er (men), 49er FX (women), Men’s and Women’s 470 and Nacra 17 (mixed). The three Paralympic classes are: 2.4mR (open, able and disabled), SKUD-18 (mixed, disabled) and Sonar (open, disabled). In addition to being an ISAF Sailing World Cup ranking event, the regatta also will aid in selecting members of the 2014 US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider.

About US Sailing
The ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami is organized by the United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, which 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 Top-Sider. For more information, please visit us at www.ussailing.org.