US Sailing Team Battles Light Air, Nerves On First Day of Sailing World Cup Miami

Light and variable winds challenged the international fleet of over 500 boats on the first day of Sailing World Cup Miami, Presented by Sunbrella, and threw tough tactical choices at US Sailing Team Sperry athletes vying for Olympic and Paralympic Team selection in nine classes. For many, the unpredictable weather conditions meant that the main goal was to live to fight another day.

Three American boats are in the top five of their fleets, including Charlie Rosenfield (Woodstock, Conn.) in the 2.4mR, Stuart McNay (Providence, R.I.) and David Hughes (Miami, Fla.) in the Men's 470, and Mark and Carolina Mendelblatt (St. Petersburg, Fla.) in the Nacra 17. Overall, Americans are in the top ten in nine of twelve classes.

In the 49er class, US Sailing Team Sperry athletes Brad Funk (Clearwater, Fla.) and Trevor Burd (Marblehead, Mass.) had some early success with scores of 4,8 (7th overall). "We saw light but not massive shifts, and you could see where the pressure was," said Burd. "Good speed makes it easy once you're clear of the starting line."

Burd noted that their mental approach to this event had been carefully considered, and it seemed to be paying off early. "You have to acknowledge that since it's a [U.S. Olympic Team] selection event, it's not just another regatta. It's important, but this week and next month's 49er Worlds (the second and final selection event) are basically one big regatta, since they're so close together. We are looking at this thing long term, and keeping it as chill as possible. We did our homework, and are doing a good job of keeping pressure low and doing what we have to to."

In other classes, American athletes put setbacks in context with the fact that it is still quite early in the regatta. "I had a good first race, but a tough second one. It was hard to stay consistent," said Laser North American Champion Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) of the US Sailing Team Sperry, in what seemed to be a common theme across the boat park. His coach, three-time Olympic Medalist Mark Reynolds (San Diego, Calif.) added that "We were happy to escape with a keeper score, a 6th, in the first race. It was pretty tough out there." The US Sailing Development Team's Erik Bowers (Excelsior, Minn.) scored an impressive 9,8 in the Laser and leads all Americans in 9th overall.

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