The Road to Weymouth Continues This Weekend for Team America 2012
FT Lauderdale, Florida, February 12, 2009—The top Finn sailors in North American join the top Finn sailors from the UK, Spain, and Poland in this year’s Finn Midwinter Regatta, hosted by Lauderdale Yacht Club on the Atlantic Ocean in south Florida.
The newly-minted U.S. Sailing Team Finn squad includes Zach Railey, 2008 Olympic silver medalist, Andy Casey, 2007 U.S. National Champion, and Bryan Boyd, 2005 U.S. National Champion.
Their main competition for podium honors will be Spain’s Rafael Trujillo, 2004 Olympic silver medalist and 2007 Finn World Champion, Britain’s Ed Wright, Royal Yachting Association’s performance team athlete who won last month’s ISAF Worlds Miami OCR, and Poland’s Rafa Szukiel, a 2008 Olympian at the games in China, and 7th at Miami, and Norway’s Peer Moberg, also a 2008 Olympian who finished 6th at Miami.
Canada’s Chris Cook, who sailed to a 7th in the Quindao regatta and 2nd at Miami, will return to the coach boat to mentor the promising young sailor, Toronto’s Matt Johnston, who made it to the ISAF Worlds Miami Regatta medal race in his first major event.
Temperatures are warming at the venue, with highs expected in the low 80’s and light southeast winds of 5-10 knots. Because the course is set close to shore, sailors will have to strategize between heading offshore or up the beach for windward legs. Strong currents generated by the nearby Gulf Stream and strong southerlies the previous few days with also factor into each sailor’s game plan.
Olympic sailing heads back to the Continent in April for the ISAF Worlds in Palma, Majorca, Spain and then Hyeres, France. The USA team plans racing those events as well as the other ISAF stages in Medemblik, Kiel, and Weymouth, punctuated by the Finn Gold Cup in Copenhagen in July and the European Championship in Varna in August.
Country-bound Finnsters will head for New Orleans for the Mardi Gras Hangover regatta followed during the week by the North American Masters championship for those over 40. The first major 2009 West Coast regatta is in Long Beach at ABYC starting March 21.
More information at ussailing.org, nafinnclass.org, finnclass.org, charlesheimler.blogspot.com
Copyright 2009/Charles Heimler
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