First blood for 49ers and Ynglings

Jan Harley reports from the US Olympic Team trials in Miami's Biscayne Bay

With a dying northerly breeze on Biscayne Bay, sailors competing in the 49er and Yngling classes saw three teams win their first races thus far in the series.

In the 49er class, Ty Reed and Bora Gulari won the day’s opening race before the fleet was postponed on the water, only to be sent ashore shortly thereafter. Finishing second were Dalton Bergan and Zack Maxam with Patrick Whitmarsh and Chad Freitas placing third.

After 90 minutes under the postponement flag at Key Biscayne Yacht Club, all 49er racing was cancelled for the day and with seven races now completed, the fleet can count a drop race in the scoring. Tim Wadlow and Pete Spaulding retain the lead in the overall standings after placing fourth today. Bergan and Maxam retain second overall, three points behind the leaders, with Andy Mack and Adam Lowry third overall, five points further back.

In the Yngling class, Carol Cronin, Liz Filter and Nancy Haberland won the first race of the day narrowly edging out Jody Swanson, Cory Sertl and Elizabeth Kratzig. Series leader Sally Barkow, Carrie Howe and Debbie Capozzi finished third in the race, while teams skippered by Hannah Swett and Betsy Alison fought it out for fourth, with Alison victorious in that skirmish. Swanson, Sertl and Kratzig won the day’s second race by over a minute, with Alison and crew Lee Icyda and Suzy Leech taking second, followed by Cronin, Filter and Haberland in third.

With six races scored, the Yngling fleet also counts a drop in their scoring, and for the third day running Barkow, Howe and Capozzi maintain their position atop the leader board with eight points overall. Tied with 14 points each are Alison, Icyda and Leech in second, followed by Cronin, Filter and Haberland in third, and Swett, Icyda and Leech in fourth overall.

As of 1500 hours, Europe sailor Meg Gaillard had added another first-place finish to her scoreline, maintaining her hold on first-place overall in that 14-boat fleet. In the Finn class, series leader Kevin Hall was also first overall despite a fourth-place finish in the fifth race of that series, which was won by Jeremy Pape. Both classes, sailing from Lauderdale Yacht Club, are now counting a drop race in the overall scoring. At press time no word had been received from the Tornado class that was sailing from Miami Yacht Club with a start time of 1300.

Racing continues through Sunday, February 22, with a mandatory layday on Wednesday, February 18.