Finnwelle

USA

26.01.15 - 31.01.15

Sailing World Cup Miami 2015

keine RL

Sailing World Cup Miami 2015

31.01.2015

Giles Scott continues unbeaten record after convincing world cup win in Miami
 
Giles Scott (GBR) has convincingly and unflinchingly shown that he is still the man to beat in the Finn Class as the 2015 season gets underway. Finishing a close second in the medal race at the end of the Sailing World Cup Miami, Scott wrapped up his eighth consecutive major win in the class and defends the title he won this time last year.
 
A third place from Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) was enough to hold onto silver, while a sparking race win from Jake Lilley (AUS) moved him ahead of Ioannis Mitakis (GRE) to take the bronze.
 
The Finns were the first class to start the medal race day in Miami. With 15 knots from the east it was a fitting end to a great week of racing. And it was an incredibly close race. All boats finished the 25-minute race within 40 seconds. That is pretty close racing by any standards.
 
Starting at the pin, Jake Lilley (AUS) won the start and as soon as he was clear, tacked and crossed the fleet to lead around the top mark from Scott and Piotr Kula (POL). Scott briefly took the lead at the gate, but Lilley again led at the top mark, if only by 1 second. He kept his lead downwind to cross first, from Scott and Kljakovic Gaspic.
 
Going into the day in third overall, Ioannis Mitakis (GRE), rounded the top mark in sixth but then dropped to ninth by the finish. The only person who could have taken a medal away from him was Lilley, and he had to be six places in front. It was a big ask, but in the end Lilley was eight places in front and took the bronze medal. Mitakis ended up fourth overall.
 
The last time Scott was beaten at a major Finn event was April 2013 in Hyeres. He was second. In fact he has only been off the podium once since 2010, and this is his third win in Miami.
 
He won five races out of 11 and a bad day for him would have been a great day for any other sailor, ending with a winning margin of 25 points. His relaxed style of sailing is disarming, but deadly, and unless the rest of the felt start to catch up soon he is going to continue his clean sweep of events.
 
Final comments from Scott, “I just had a good week, and we've been lucky to get some good racing in here especially after a bit of disappointing weather last year. On to the next one…”
 
Silver medalist Kljakovic Gaspic had too much to do in the medal race, coming into the day 23 points behind Scott. He had a bumpy start to the week and then a DSQ in race 4 didn’t help matters. But he turned it around in the second half of the week amassing identical points to Scott over the final six qualification races. Kljakovic Gaspic is one of the most focussed sailors on the circuit and very focussed on the task in hand – a medal in Rio – and you get the impression there is a lot more to come from the double European Champion.
 
He said on Saturday’s race, “Just an ordinary medal race. The idea was to stay close to Giannis and Jake. After Giannis was left behind on first run I just made sure to stay close to Giles and Jake in front. My speed was good so I could keep a close contact to them.”
 
Bronze medallist Jake Lilley (AUS) held second place for the first four days here, but fell at the final hurdle and amassed a lot of points in the light and shifty Friday races to drop to fourth, 11 points outside a medal. It needed something special to turn that around, so to come out and win the medal race is quite an achievement. He is the youngest sailor here and with his coach John Bertrand (USA) they are making steady progress. Lilley only joined the class in 2013 and is one of its fastest rising stars. Only time will tell whether he can continue this momentum, though you get the feeling he will.
 
A wrap would not be complete without further mention to Mitakis, who has sailed an exceptional week. After winning the 2012 Europeans in light winds, he had made his mark, but struggled to repeat the form on a regular basis. One highlight was eighth at the 2013 World Championship, again in generally light winds. In Miami this week he has held his own in most conditions and showed his speed potential in the 10-14 knot range. If only there were four medals up for grabs: he fully deserved one.
 
It has been an interesting week in Miami and with more than half the major players here a good indication of form as the circuit now moves onto Europe.
 
Results after medal race (medal race positions in brackets)
1 GBR 41 Giles Scott 27 (2)
2 CRO 524 Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic 52 (3)
3 AUS 41 Jake Lilley 60 (1)
4 GRE 77 Ioannis Mitakis 65 (9)
5 SLO 573 Vasilij Zbogar 78 (4)
6 POL 17 Piotr Kula 95 (7)
7 GBR 11 Edward Wright 96 (5)
8 ITA 146 Michele Paoletti 107 (6)
9 USA 6 Caleb Paine 108 (8)
10 AUS 261 Oliver Tweddell 108 (10)


Event website: http://miami.ussailing.org

Live tracking at: www.sailing.org/worldcup/multimedia/tracking.php

 

 

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30.01.2015

Giles Scott leads line-up of champions into Miami Finn medal race
 
Giles Scott (GBR) has assured himself his first victory of the year after two more races were sailed Friday in the lightest winds of the week at the Sailing World Cup Miami. He now sits 23 points ahead of Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO), who had the best day to rise from fourth to second. Ioannis Mitakis (GRE) is third, just one point further back.
 
Friday in Miami brought the lightest winds of the week, starting out at 7-8 knots and dropping to 3-4 by the end of the second race. There were some high scores throughout the fleet and some big gaps appearing as some got it more right than others.
 
Some in the top 10 – Jake Lilley (AUS), Ed Wright (GBR) and Oliver Twedell (AUS) – had their worst scoring day so far but managed to survive into the medal race. One who was not so lucky was Anders Pedersen (NOR) who dropped to 14th. But it was a tough day for everyone.
 
Race 9 got underway in a northerly 9 knots. Scott Hoffmann (USA) went furthest left before crossing back in front of the whole fleet to round first next to Wright with Jorge Zarif (BRA) close behind.
 
Scott rounded sixth but was soon on the transom of Zarif who had quickly taken the lead. The Brazilian rounded the gate just ahead of Scott and Kljakovic Gaspic, but Scott was the first to break out to the right and took the lead. Near the top Giorgio Poggi (ITA) got the best of the last shift to tack in front of Scott and lead round the top.
 
But it wasn’t over just yet. Scott moved back into the lead down the run and held on to win by less than three boat lengths while Kljakovic Gaspic almost passed Zarif just before the finish. A fifth for Caleb Paine (USA) boosted his chances of making the medal race, while early race leader, Hoffmann, ended up 19th.
 
The tenth race was make or break for many sailors, with the lighter winds throwing a new ingredient into the mix. Controlling the fleet on the left Kljakovic Gaspic rounded the top mark next to Mitakis, but with a nice gap on the fleet. Cem Gozen (TUR) and Scott led the chasing pack.
 
By the gate the two leaders were a good 100 metres from the fleet and Kljakovic Gaspic was all over Mitakis’s wind up the second beat to keep firm control of the race. As the wind dropped to 4 knots Scott slipped back a few places and Greg Douglas moved up to third.
 
On the final run Kljakovic Gaspic extended to win by 200 metres with Mitakis in second. Greg Douglas (CAN) was leading the pack another 300 metres behind, but was caught on the finish line by Poggi, with Hoffmann making amends for the first race of the day with a fifth place finish. Scott made a slight recovery to cross sixth, but it was all academic as his closest rival, Lilley ended up far too deep, being unable to recover from after a poor first rounding.
 
Klakovic Gaspic said, “Today was not so nice a day for sailing, but it was nice for me.”
 
“I did a job sailing smart both races and gaining some points on the fleet. In the second race I had a clear start on the pin end and as soon as I got a chance I covered the fleet but just enough to be in front. Until the top mark I continued my own pace, which proved to be fast. After that I made some distance on the downwind and after that was just extending. Simple race once you are that much ahead...”
 
Mitakis added, “The weather was really tricky today, light, shifty and patchy – too difficult.”
 
On the medal race he said, “Tomorrow the forecast predicts 17 knots, so my plan is just to go sailing and have some fun, as always.”
 
While Scott is assured the win, the real fight is on for silver between Kljakovic Gaspic and Mitakis. If the forecast is correct, the smart money will be on Kljakovic Gaspic, but with Lilley 11 points pack, Mitakis may have his own battle on to retain the bronze. Everyone else is too far adrift to take a medal.
 
So the medal race line up looks like this:

Giles Scott (GBR): Clearly the best Finn sailor in the world at the present time. World Champion 2011, 2014, European Champion 2011, 2014, World Junior Champion 2008

Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO): European Champion in 2009 and 2010, Junior European Champion in 2005 and Junior World Champion in 2005.
 
Ioannis Mitakis (GRE): Junior European Champion 2009, 2010 and European Champion 2012. This is undoubtedly his best performance since 2012. He was untouchable on Wednesday with two race wins.

Jake Lilley (AUS): One of the rising stars of the fleet having put in an exceptional performance this week in a tough fleet and a range of conditions. Current Junior European Champion.
 
Vasilij Zbogar (SLO): European Champion in 2013 and winner of the 2014 Sailing World Cup final in Abu Dhabi. Always a tough competitor, he tends to do better when the winds are lighter.
 
Piotr Kula (POL): The 2012 Olympic has put together a string of top results over the last few years but has yet to win a medal at a major Finn event.
 
Ed Wright (GBR): 2006 European Champion and 2010 World Champion. One of the most experienced sailors in the fleet, now in his 10th full season in the class.

Oliver Tweddell (AUS): Former world No. 1 and runner up here last year to Scott. Was always fastest in lighter winds, but has bulked up a bit to try and crack the stronger winds.

Caleb Paine (USA): Won here in Miami two years ago, recent World No. 1 and more recently took bronze at the Abu Dhabi World Cup final and seventh in the 2014 World Championship.

Michele Paoletti (ITA): Best result was sixth at the 2013 World Championship. Has had lots of top mark rounding this week but has struggled to stay with the pack downwind.

If you have been counting, these 10 sailors have 15 titles between them. Whatever happens tomorrow, they are in good company.
 
Results after 10 races
1 GBR 41 Giles Scott 23
2 CRO 524 Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic 46
3 GRE 77 Ioannis Mitakis 47
4 AUS 41 Jake Lilley 58
5 SLO 573 Vasilij Zbogar 70
6 POL 17 Piotr Kula 81
7 GBR 11 Edward Wright 86
8 AUS 261 Oliver Tweddell 88
9 USA 6 Caleb Paine 92
10 ITA 146 Michele Paoletti 95

 
Event website: http://miami.ussailing.org


Live tracking at: www.sailing.org/worldcup/multimedia/tracking.php

 

 

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29.01.2015

Joining up the gusts with Giles Scott in Miami
 
According to Giles Scott (GBR), Thursday at the Sailing World Cup Miami was all about joining up the gusts. And he should know as he has now taken a 10 point lead in the regatta with just three races to sail. Scott won the second race of the day and his fourth of the week to extend his lead over Jake Lilley (AUS) and Ioannis Mitakis (GRE). Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) won the opening race.
 
It was all change again in Miami with wind back in the east at 13-15 knots all day. But the same faces were out in front, with the current World and European Champion Scott picking up the best score of the day with a 3, 1 to double his lead.
 
Starting at the earlier time of 10.00, Kljakovic Gaspic led the fleet in race 7, where the leaders came out of the right for a very congested top mark rounding. He had Björn Allansson (SWE) and Jorge Zarif (BRA) right on his tail, but sailed down the middle of the course and extended slightly. Scott rounded in ninth before breaking free of the group he was in and the chase was on. He was up to second by the gate, while Mitakis also showed some pace moving from 11th at the top to third.

Kljakovic Gaspic led the fleet back to the right with Scott leading another group closer to the middle, but also heading right. However Mitakis went further right and got past Scott and after the next downwind that was the order they finished.

The Croatian then sailed away for his first win of the week, while Scott and Mitakis kept everyone guessing. In the end Mitakis took second by a boat length from Scott, followed by Vasilij Zbogar (SLO) and Ed Wright (GBR).
 
The wind seemed much more settled for race 8, with little of the big places changes seen so far. Zarif rounded first from Scott, Michele Paoletti (ITA) and Lilley, again all coming from the right.
 
Scott had found his form again and was soon in the lead never to be headed. Zarif, the 2013 World Champion, was always there but could not get past and afterwards found out he was over the line at the start. Behind them nothing much changed. With Zarif out with a UFD (U flag disqualification) Lilley took second with Piotr Kula (POL) third, Oliver Tweddell (AUS) fourth and Paoletti fifth.
 
Wright summed up the day, “We had shifty conditions again today, and I didn't really make the most of it. If I was left it went right and if I was right it went left. It’s a shame I picked up a RTD earlier in the week or I would be looking good now. However I am quite excited going into the last day of qualification tomorrow.”
 
Kljakovic Gaspic described his race win. “At the first start I got clear lane after the start and kept on the right hand side. At some moments it didn't look so nice but patience paid in the end and I rounded the top mark just ahead of the fleet. On the downwind I got a bit of distance on the pack and then just controlled until the finish.”
 
“But it was another tricky day in Miami. In the second race went to do the same but a big lefty came in and I rounded the top mark badly. Later I sailed fast and got back to the top again, finishing sixth.”
 
Scott said, “The right was stronger than the left but there were routes out of the left. It was an oscillating day today with bands of pressure. It was a shift and position day, just trying to look where the breeze is and joining up the gusts. I was happy with the way today went.”
 
Racing in Miami continues on Friday when the opening series will conclude. The medal race for the top 10 will then be sailed on Saturday. The cut to make the top 10 is very close, with four boats on similar points and another group within striking range.
 
The first start for Finns on Friday is scheduled for 10.00.
 
Results after eight races
1            GBR 41     Giles Scott    16
2            AUS 41      Jake Lilley      26
3            GRE 77      Ioannis Mitakis      34
4            CRO 524    Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic     41
5            GBR 11      Edward Wright   46
6            AUS 261    Oliver Tweddell      48
7            SLO 573     Vasilij Zbogar       52
8            POL 17       Piotr Kula       53
9            NOR 1        Anders Pedersen     73
10          ITA 146      Michele Paoletti     74
 
Event website: http://miami.ussailing.org

Live tracking at: www.sailing.org/worldcup/multimedia/tracking.php

 

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29.01.2015

No Greek austerity on day three in Miami with a double bullet for Ioannis Mitakis
 
Ioannis Mitakis (GRE), the 2012 Finn European Champion, ruled the roost in Miami today with two emphatic race wins on day three of the Sailing World Cup Miami and moves up to third overall. Giles Scott (GBR) sailed his worst day so far, but still leads with a five point gap on Jake Lilley, and 12 points over Mitakis as the event reaches its half way stage.
 
With the winds back in the north and starting out at 18-20 knots, it was another tricky, shifty day with a lot of ups and downs through the fleet. No one was safe, apart from Mitakis that is, who could do no wrong.
 
The left was clearly favoured on the first beat with Mitakis leading the left and Lilley the right. When Lilley crossed back he was just behind Mitakis and that is how it stayed for the rest of the race. Martin Robitaillie (CAN) rounded third.
 
Mitakis initially extended downwind while Scott was moving through the fleet. At the gate it was Mitakis, Ben Cornish (GBR) and Lilley. Scott had moved from 11th to fourth.
 
The leaders immediately tried left again on the second beat with Mitakis protecting his lead. Ed Wright (GBR) showed good speed to move into second at the top splitting Mitakis and Lilley. Scott was still fourth
 
The final downwind was easy for Mitakis with the front three comfortably clear of the pack. Lilley found a way past Wright for second, and while Scott closed right up he couldn’t get through Wright and had to settle for fourth. Cornish crossed in fifth.
 
The wind was down to 9-10 knots for race 6 but it was the same face at the front. Playing the shifts very close to the middle Mitakis rounded the top mark in second just behind Michele Paoletti (ITA), and ahead of Piotr Kula (POL).
 
Nothing changed on the first downwind but half way up the second beat Mitakis was closing on Paoletti who was further to the left. The Greek gained the advantage right at the top to round first from Oliver Tweddell (AUS), who had rounded the first mark 20th, Anders Pedersen (NOR), 22nd at the first mark, and Lilley. There were some big gains to be made if you got it right. Paoletti went the other way and ended up 12th.
 
Scott rounded eighth and as he has done so often this week, put his foot down and was soon taking places. Mitakis however was unfazed and cruised to a 100 metre lead, but the fight behind him was far from over. Ivan Klakovic Gaspic (CRO) and Vasili Zbogar (SLO) were making big gains on the right while Scott briefly moved up to second.
 
At the finish Mitakis was still clear ahead while second could have gone to any of five bats, all within three boat lengths of each other. In the end Kljakovic Gaspic poked his nose across the line in second from Zbogar in third. Tweddell crossed fourth with Kula fifth. Scott came home in sixth.
 
Mitakis was typically understated about his outstanding performance. “The wind, as everybody will tell you, was tricky again a bit more right to day but still tricky. My plan was to start in the middle and play the shifts and then in the last metres to decide where to go. I think today apart from the good rhythm of the shifts in upwind I was also lucky so I didn't want anything more.”
 
“Downwind I think that if you round first the only thing you have the do is stay calm and play your side. So a good day for me today, but still three more days to go.”
 
There have been a few standout performances so far this week and another one of them is Ben Cornish (GBR), currently in 11th, in only his second season in the class. He said, “It's been a steady start for my first trip to Miami. Day 1 was somewhat frustrating letting a solid counter fall away by capsizing on the final run. Yesterday was a nice day with some big shifts in the offshore breeze and I managed to cash in on sticking to my side until things came back.”
 
“Today was one of the hardest days I have experienced in a while having been in touch with the race winner and then making some poor calls. It was a very difficult day to predict and I would imagine a high scoring average, so I am pleased to come away with a couple of countable results.”
 
On his progress he said, “I am starting to get up to speed with the top guys, which has allowed me to start sailing with my head out of the boat a bit more. This is certainly crucial here.”
 
“It looks like Miami is due to deliver some good wind for the final two days of racing which I look forward to.”
 
After Mitakis, Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic has the next best day on the water with a 6, 2. He is in fifth overall. He said, “It was another tough and strange sailing day for all of us sailing out there. In both races I got out of rhythm right at the start and then it was survival mode for the rest of time. I was pushing hard and managed to come back into the game. For sure I had good speed but today it was all about wind and occasionally some luck.”
 
Tweddell moves up two places to seventh after a similarly good day with a 7, 4. He said, “It was another good day for me today. I'm counting some bad results so had to sail quite conservative throughout today. I had good speed and was able to put together two good races, so I can't complain with that. The racing was extremely close today due to the extreme shiftiness of the conditions.”

Regatta leader Scott summed up his day. "It was very, very shifty. The left was good then it would switch and right was good. A very tricky day." Despite scoring 4, 6 he said, "It wasn't really a bad day for me. For such an difficult day, you have to be happy with counters in those conditions."
 
Racing in Miami continues through to Friday for the opening series, with the medal race for the top 10 on Saturday. The first start for Finns on Thursday is scheduled for the earlier time of 10.00.
 
Results after six races
1         GBR 41       Giles Scott         12
2         AUS 41       Jake Lilley         17
3         GRE 77       Ioannis Mitakis         24
4         GBR 11       Edward Wright         29
5         CRO 524    Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic         33
6         NOR 1        Anders Pedersen         34
7         AUS 261     Oliver Tweddell         36
8         SLO 573     Vasilij Zbogar         37
9         POL 17       Piotr Kula         44
10       USA 6         Caleb Paine         51


Event website: http://miami.ussailing.org

Live tracking at: www.sailing.org/worldcup/multimedia/tracking.php

 

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28.01.2015

Aussie Finn sailors make a charge on day two in Miami

It may have been a day late for Australia Day, but on the second day at the Sailing World Cup Miami, the Australian Finn sailors were on a charge with some sparkling performances. Giles Scott (GBR) still leads after winning the opening race of the day, while Jake Lilley (AUS) won the second and moved up to second overall. Ed Wright (GBR) is in third.

However, it was the former World No.1, Oliver Tweddell (AUS), who had the best day overall with a 3, 2  to move up to eighth overall after struggling on day one.
 
With the wind at 12 to 14 knots for most of the day, it was a lot easier on the legs, but still as shifty as ever with some big losses and gains through the fleet. In race 3, the right side came in strong at the top mark with Harles Liv (EST) rounding first from Tweddell and the 1974 World Champion, Henry Sprague (USA). The early leaders lost a lot of ground stuck out on the left.
 
Scott rounded in eighth, but it wasn’t long before he was moving up, choosing a course to the right of the fleet and gradually eroding the gap. He took the lead just before the gate and led up the second beat from Tweddell and Piotr Kula (POL). Scott loosely covered the main group out to the right, with Kula even further to the right. When the fleet tacked back both Kula and Tweddell has passed Scott, but it was short lived
 
Scott found a way through and rounded the top mark just ahead of Tweddell and Anders Pedersen (NOR). The regatta leader stayed in the middle down the run to protect his lead, which turned into a dual of wits as he maintained a narrow lead over the pack to win his third race in a row. Kula just beat Tweddell across the line for second with Pedersen, Bjorn Allansson (SWE) and Wright not far behind.
 
In the shifty conditions, race 4 started to mix the fleet up a bit with more high scores going on the board for some. However, Tweddell was again at the front following Caleb Paine (USA), round the top mark, with Jake Lilley (AUS) in third.
 
Paine, who had broken a boom on Monday and couldn’t sail the second race, initially broke clear down the run, but Tweddell lined up further to the left and passed him near the gate to lead up the second beat. Lilley remained in third, while Scott, who had rounded the top mark ninth, was up to fourth
 
Lilley then favoured the right on the second beat and crossed back ahead to lead round the top from Paine, Ben Cornish (GBR) and Tweddell. Scott was now down in fifth. The only change down the final run was Tweddell passing Paine to put Lilley under pressure and make it an Aussie 1, 2. Paine crossed in third with Cornish fourth and Scott fifth.
 
Man of the day, Tweddell, sounded relieved after a poor performance on Monday. “It was a much better day for me today. Yesterday I had an unfortunate day, really struggling for speed in the first race and then having to retire from the second race with some gear failure.”
 
“Today was a bit lighter than yesterday, probably around 13-15 knots, with a short chop and straight offshore so quite shifty.”
 
“I changed a few things around with my set up for today which made a big difference to my speed, and I managed to keep myself in a good position on the race course which helped out a lot. The downwinds were a lot of fun today.”

Former World No. 1, Allansson, currently in 13th overall, said, “We had a day with plenty of shifts and pressure differences. One consistently needed to attack the next pressure. I make improvements out there every day, so it's good fun.”
 
The 2012 European Champion, Ioannis Mitakis (GRE), is in sixth overall, and is upbeat about his first ever visit to Miami. “Today it was windy again but more tricky with big shifts which made our job really difficult. I had an eighth and an 11th, which I think in these conditions is ok.”
 
“It my first time here and this place is perfect. I think year by year this event is becoming bigger and it’s a really good place for training and racing.”

The World Junior Champion is also fairing well in his first year as a senior. Anders Pedersen (NOR) is fourth overall after a 4, 9 today. He said, “Today’s racing was tough. It was very shifty and up and down in pressure. The first one for me was good, I had a good start and got the flow. The second was a bit more difficult. I lost the wind half way up the first beat, and got knocked out of rhythm. Then the rest of the race was a struggle to hang on the fleet.”
 
On changing from a Junior to a Senior, “The perspective hasn’t changed that much really. My goal is to do well in the Olympics so that is what the goal is really all about. But it’s good to feel that I am fighting with ‘the big guys’ as well.”
 
Racing in Miami continues through for Friday for the opening series, with the medal race for the top 10 on Saturday. The first start for Finns on Tuesday is scheduled for 13.00.
 
Results after four races
1  GBR 41    Giles Scott     3
2  AUS 41    Jake Lilley     6
3  GBR 11     Edward Wright   16
4 NOR 1       Anders Pedersen       18
5  POL 17     Piotr Kula       20
6 GRE 77      Ioannis Mitakis     22
7 USA 6        Caleb Paine       23
8  SLO 573    Vasilij Zbogar     24
9  AUS 261   Oliver Tweddell     25
10 CRO 524   Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic     25
 
 
Event website: http://miami.ussailing.org 

Live tracking at: www.sailing.org/worldcup/multimedia/tracking.php

 

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27.01.2015

Perfect start for Finn World Champion in Miami

Giles Scott (GBR) said last week that he hoped his unbeaten run would continue, and based on Monday’s form at the Sailing World Cup Miami, the 2014 World and European Champion is giving it a pretty good shot, with two race wins leading from the front. Jake Lilley (AUS) is second with Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) in third.

The first day of the first Sailing World Cup of 2015 brought testing conditions with a shifty, offshore wind of 16-23 knots with squalls up to 30 knots, together with both rain and sunshine.

After a delay to the start, race 1 got underway in 16-18 knots from the west.  Ed Wright (GBR) and Giles Scott (GBR) emerged from the middle of the first beat to round just ahead of Piotr Kula (POL) at the top mark. Wright soon gybed back to the left, but Scott carried on and soon took the lead. He extended at the gate and maintained his lead on the second beat before turning it on downwind to build a 150 metre lead at the finish to win the opening race. Jake Lilley (AUS), who rounded the top mark in 11th, made gains each leg to move up to second on the final downwind. Wright crossed in third with Kula fourth.
 
With the wind increasing Lilley capitalised on his good form to lead round the top mark in race 2, just ahead of Scott and Ioannis Mitakis (GRE). Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) wasn’t far behind and had moved up level with Scott at the gate, the two sailors rounding opposite marks. After a long port tack from the bottom of the course, Scott had gained a slight advantage and rounded the top mark just five boatlengths ahead of the Croatian. Lilley had slipped to third.
 
On the final downwind it looked like Scott would sail away to another big win, quickly opening up a gap of 80 metres on the fleet. However as the groups on the left and the right converged on the finish his lead evaporated, though Scott still managed cross first from Kljakovic Gaspic and Lilley.

Lilley said, “It was a classic windy westerly frontal passage, 18-30 knots and shifting from 275 to 305 degrees. The forecast was for it to clock right after the front passed but it swung back to the left more then most expected. The windward mark was near the shore and current played into the mix.  We came here to work on light air speed, which we hope to see later this week, but I’m happy doing well tactically today in the shifty conditions.”


Scott said of his day, “It was very windy, offshore and shifty today. The wind was oscillating around about 30 degrees with big bands of pressure. If you got caught out in a lull it really wasn't great. Also, there were no waves, but a hideous chop in the second race; it really bounced you around.”
 
Scott is clearly the favourite here, having been unbeaten in the class for 18 months. “People often ask me about my form, having had such a good year in the Finn last year.  Of course I am really pleased how it all went - it was great to become World Champion again and to have been able to go last year unbeaten, but ultimately it kind of means nothing really at this stage.  It’s about what comes next.”
 
“For me it’s very much still one step at a time in terms of the approach to events, but you have to be realistic about the fact that you have to qualify for the Games.”
 
His unbeaten run also included last year’s SWC Miami, where he only just overcame Oliver Tweddell (AUS) in the final race. “Miami as an event went pretty well for me last year, although we did struggle with the wind a little bit. It’s generally a good regatta to do and a good start to the competitive year.”
 
Racing in Miami continues through for Friday for the opening series, with the medal race for the top 10 on Saturday. The first start for Finns on Tuesday is scheduled for 13.00.
 
Results after two races
1         GBR 41        Giles Scott         2
2         AUS 41        Jake Lilley         5
3         CRO 524      Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic         10
4         GBR 11        Edward Wright         10
5         NOR 1         Anders Pedersen         14
6         GRE 77       Ioannis Mitakis         15
7         SLO 573      Vasilij Zbogar         17
8         POL 17        Piotr Kula         18
9         CAN 5         Gregory Douglas         20
10       ITA 146      Michele Paoletti         21
 
Full results
 
Event website: miami.ussailing.org

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Regattentermine März 2024

GER

21.03.15 - 22.03.15

GER

28.03.15 - 29.03.15

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