Perfect first-day conditions greeted sailors at US SAILING's Rolex MIami OCR, where 369 Olympic and Paralympic sailors from 34 countries are competing in four Olympic classes (Laser, Laser Radial, Star, and Yngling) and three Paralympic classes (2.4mR, SKUD-18 and Sonar). As an International Sailing Federation Grade 1 event, the regatta figures into world rankings, and some countries are selecting their 2008 Olympic and Paralympic teams based on results here.
One sailor who doesn't have to worry about whether she'll make it to Qingdao in August is the USA's Olympic representative in the Laser Radial class and US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics member Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.). After winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Sailing in October, Tunnicliffe changed her focus. "I used to have one drive--to win the Trials. Now I have a new drive; it's to win in China." The Florida sailor today won the second of her class's two races after finishing third in the first. The performance put her in first place overall for the day. "It was only 7-9 knots, which made for tricky sailing," said Tunnicliffe, acknowledging that China will have similar wind conditions but with much more chop and swell than Biscayne Bay had to offer today. "It's still early," she said about this regatta. "With it being light and fluky, it's still wide open."
In second overall after today's racing was Paige Railey, another Floridian (Clearwater) whose name seems magnetically drawn to Tunnicliffe's whenever they enter the same events. Railey swapped out with Tunnicliffe to win today's first race and then finished fourth in the second. After she finished behind Tunnicliffe in the Trials, she decided to go "back to the basics and have fun with sailing." She re-set her goals, both long-term (the 2012 Olympics) and short-term (the Laser Radial Worlds in New Zealand this March). "This regatta is part of my build-up to peak at the Worlds," said Railey. "It's too early to tell what will happen here. The fleet is completely stacked with good sailors."
Great Britain's Penny Clark sits in third overall, having to watch the Americans closely as well as four of her own national teammates who are, like Clark, still trying to secure for themselves their country's single Olympic Laser Radial spot. "Whoever goes from our team, there is huge medal potential," said Clark," because of how good everyone is, and we have a strong squad. Come China, we will be a pretty hard force to be reckoned with."
Great Britain sports the third largest competitor contingent here with 15 entries; the USA has 50, while Canada has 33. In the Laser Radial class alone, 11 Canadian women are competing, all with Olympic aspirations for down the line. "It's individual competition, but we like it when our teammates do well," said Jessica Lombard (Montreal), who humbly sits in last place while Canadian Lisa Ross has secured seventh.
The Star class is the largest with 70 entrants, which each day are split into blue and yellow fleets. After Wednesday, they will be re-designated as gold and silver based on their combined overall scoring and the top ten in the gold fleet at the end of fleet racing on Friday will move on to the Olympic medal races on Saturday. The other Olympic classes, as well, will participate in top-ten format medal races, while Paralympic winners will be determined by fleet racing standings calculated through Friday.
About the Rolex Miami OCR Established in 1990 by US SAILING, the Rolex Miami OCR annually draws elite sailors Olympic and Paralympic medalists and hopefuls from around the world. In non-Olympic years, the regatta is especially important as a ranking regatta for sailors hoping to qualify for the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, which annually distinguish the top three sailors in each Olympic or Paralympic class. The 2008 Rolex Miami OCR consists of five days of fleet racing from Monday January 28 through Friday, February 1, and one day of top-ten medal racing (for Olympic classes only) on Saturday, February 2, replicating the new Olympic format that will debut in Qingdao.
Regatta Headquarters are at the US Sailing Center, where the Laser classes also will be located. The Stars will be hosted at Coral Reef Yacht Club, the Ynglings at Key Biscayne Yacht Club, and all Paralympic classes at Shake-A-Leg Miami's facilities. The City of Miami has also joined to support the event.
In addition to title sponsor Rolex Watch U.S.A., the 2008 Rolex Miami OCR is also sponsored by: AlphaGraphics, Nautica, LaserPerformance, Gill, New England Ropes, Sperry Top-Sider, Extrasport, RIBCRAFT, Nikon, Harken, Team McLube, and Trinity Yachts.
On-demand video will be available after 9 p.m. each evening starting Thursday, January 31, at www.rolexmiamiocr.org, where complete results also can be found.
About Rolex Watch U.S.A., Inc. Since Rolex Watch U.S.A. first presented timepieces to America's Cup defenders in 1958, the company has consistently recognized and encouraged excellence in every important arena of competitive sailing, including supporting the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, US SAILING championships, disabled sailing, and offshore, one-design and women's events. In 2008, Rolex will sponsor over 20 prestigious yachting events globally, including New York Yacht Club Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex and the US-IRC Rolex National Championship, Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Rolex Big Boat Series, Rolex Capri Sailing Week, Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, Rolex Fastnet Race, and the Rolex Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race.
About US SAILING The Rolex Miami OCR is organized by US SAILING, national governing body of the sport. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the organization provides leadership for the sport of sailing in the United States. 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 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.
