Announcement

**Carl Spackler** · 07-20-2021, 12:24 PM

Maybe they cancel all the close contact events and focus on sailing only?

**Administrator** · 07-22-2021, 09:02 AM

2021 Olympic Sailing Simplified

The good folks at Team USA have produced a very simple, easy to understand breakdown of the who, what, where and when
of the 2021 Summer Games Sailing...

Enjoy and pass it along!

Live Streaming Schedule

**El Capitan** · 07-22-2021, 09:55 AM

Nice breakdown!
About time that somek e at US Sailing figured it out,
Could if be Cayard at the helm?

**Photoboy** · 07-23-2021, 11:16 AM

Tropical Disturbances Headed Towards Enoshima

Meanwhile, Typhoon In-Fa is doing a bit of a dance south of the Olympic Games. With another system
to follow with the greatest impact on Monday.

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

**Photoboy** · 07-26-2021, 10:46 AM

Reverberating Sea State Causes Challenging Conditions

There was more wind than expected for the second day of racing at the Olympic Sailing Competition which was just as well as the lumpy, confused wave pattern made it hard to get into the groove.

When the Pacific swell hits the shoreline of Enoshima and the concrete harbour walls, it reverberates back out to sea, turning the field of play into something akin to a washing machine. Finding a rhythm through the water is difficult, made all the harder by the breeze shifting first one way, then the other, without much discernible pattern. Many suffered, but a few managed to make sense of nature’s chaos.

The Laser, Laser Radial and the Men’s and Women’s RS:X all took to the water in a 10-15 knot easterly breeze and successfully completed their scheduled races.

Men’s Windsurfer – RS:X

Kiran Badloe (NED) came ashore as the new leader of the regatta. However, there was a protest against the Dutch sailor from closest rival Mattia Camboni from Italy. It was a port starboard incident at the windward mark where Badloe had failed to keep clear from Camboni. The protest resulted in Badloe’s disqualification from race five in which he had finished second. This relegates the three-time World Champion to third overall, a point behind yesterday’s leader Mateo Sanz Lanz from Switzerland, now in second overall. Camboni holds a four point lead going into the windsurfer fleet’s day off from competition.

Speaking as he came off the water before going into the protest, Camboni was his usual, smiling, upbeat self. “The racing is intense. You must be focussed all the time. You cannot stop watching what is happening around you. This is the Olympic Games. Everyone is at the top level, so it’s always a good fight.”

Badloe likes to keep his emotions at the same pitch, regardless of what comes his way, and the same with the wind conditions. He claims not to have a favourite type of breeze. “I like all-round conditions so I’m pretty happy to get what comes our way,” said the Dutchman, who isn’t that bothered about what the weather forecast says for the rest of the week. “We have a day off now, and we’re going to come here the day after tomorrow and no matter what condition, we’ll turn up at the same time and we’re going to go racing.”
France’s Thomas Goyard started the day with a 13th but hit the reset button to win the next two races. This lifts the Frenchman to fourth overall.

Women’s Windsurfer – RS:X

Emma Wilson (GBR) moves to level on points with regatta leader Charline Picon (FRA). The Briton put together scores of 1,4,2 in conditions that others were finding very hard to make work on the RS:X board. “It was pretty shifty with the wind coming from the land, so that was always going to be tricky. I got good starts and just tried to do what I could do best, to trust myself.”

It was a pretty good day for Picon, the defending Olympic Champion, who started shakily with a ninth but then recovered with a race win and a fourth. “The wind was more intense than we expected, 12 to 18 knots offshore, unstable, gusty. It was complicated racing today,” she said. “But we are at the halfway of the competition, in a fight with Great Britain and China. So it’s OK.”

China’s Yunxiu Lu had the best day on the water with an incredible set of scores – 2,2,1 – moving her to just two points off the lead and nine points ahead of Italy’s Marta Maggetti in fourth overall.

Pre-regatta favourite, the three-time World Champion Lilian de Geus couldn’t disguise her dejection as she stepped ashore from a day that didn’t seem that bad – 8,3,11 were her scores. The Dutch sailor had gold very much on her mind for Tokyo 2020, and at the halfway stage – lying in sixth place – she knows a lot of things need to go her way if that’s to happen.

“Today I just missed the wind shifts, I guess. I was a little bit too early or too late all the time. We still have more than half a week and yeah, I just need to see what the next day brings and I hope I can refocus.”

Men’s One Person Dinghy – Laser

Finland’s Kaarle Tapper was not on many people’s radar as a likely candidate to be topping the leaderboard in the mightily tough Laser fleet. But after three races that’s where the flying Finn finds himself. Following on from a second place on the opening day, Tapper took third in the first race of today, followed by a 14th which in this fleet is not all that bad either.

Four points behind the Finn are two great friends and training partners, as well being Olympic silver medallists from the past two Games, Tonci Stipanovic (CRO) and Pavlos Kontides (CYP). While the Croatian is nominally in second overall on tiebreak with worst race discarded, he’d rather have the more consistent set of numbers held by the Cypriot. Counting all scores, Kontides has the lowest points in the fleet and is the only sailor to have kept his results inside the top ten.

His results of 4,7,5 don’t tell the real story of why the Cypriot is doing so well this week. In yesterday’s race Kontides hauled himself back from 27th to fourth, and today was a similar story of coming back from the dead. “Very changeable conditions – big windshifts and changes in current as well – which gave a lot of opportunities for gains, but also losses. I was finding myself deep after the first lap in both races today, but fortunately I was able to finish well.”

In full hiking conditions and big waves to navigate, it was a full-body workout for the Laser sailors on the Enoshima course. Sweden’s Jesper Stalheim was leading the race for a while before yielding to 2020 World Champion Philipp Buhl from Germany. Stalheim dropped to third and found himself pinned by another boat as he was approaching the windward mark. The Swede misjudged the current pushing the fleet on to the mark, and after hitting the mark it went from bad to worse as he capsized in the course of taking his penalty turn. Meanwhile Milivoj Dukic overtook Buhl and made it a memorable first race victory for Montenegro at the Olympic Games.

Although Buhl would love to have won the race, he was philosophical about finishing second. The German was quietly content with his performance so far at his second Games. “I’ve got five years more experience since Rio 2016. Winning the World Championships last year helps me to be a lot more relaxed now. I think it took a lot of pressure away from this event. Now I just go with it, rather than in Rio where I felt like I had to do it,” he emphasised.

Stalheim must have been kicking himself to have made a mess of his opportunities in the first race of the day. But he kicked himself so hard that he shot into the lead of race three. This time, no mistakes, and the Swede hammered home the win.

Women’s One Person Dinghy – Laser Radial

Line Flem Høst (NOR) is the surprise package of the Olympic Sailing Competition so far, the Norwegian sailing an unbelievably consistent regatta in such unpredictable conditions. “I was actually feeling kind of shaky, a bit nauseous, not quite ready,” admitted Høst. “So it was really great to have such a good day and really feel like I was in the zone.”

Vasileia Karachaliou (GRE) rose up the rankings too, on the back of 6,1 scores and sits two points off the lead. “It’s nice to win a race, but it’s just another regatta, even if it’s the Olympics. My most important goal is to try to keep all my scores in the top 10, and then see what happens at the end.”

Until the fourth race this afternoon, Anne-Marie Rindom had been the only athlete to keep all her results inside the top 10, but then the Dane proved that even she is fallible in the vagaries of Enoshima as she finished 13th late this afternoon.

However the bronze medallist from Rio is still in bronze medal position in Tokyo. “I’m a little bit disappointed about that last race. But all in all, I think I managed to keep to my goal, which is to be present in the moment, to look out of the boat and not be affected by my emotions, which is not that easy because there are a lot of emotions at an Olympic Games.”

Following a hard first day on the water, defending Olympic Champion Marit Bouwmeester (NED) really needed to up her game and she came away from the day with a 7,2, lifting her to fifth place overall, two points behind Italy’s Silvia Zennaro. Bouwmeester had been leading the fourth race before being passed by Karachaliou, but at least the Dutch two-time Olympic medallist is in striking distance, 16 points off the overall lead. Two years ago when she won gold at the Hempel World Cup Enoshima, she celebrated with singing ‘Barbie Girl’ at a karaoke bar. Bouwmeester admitted the gold medal looks like a big challenge, but promised, “If I win, I will sing Alphaville.” Alphaville’s best known song from the 80s being ‘Big in Japan’.

The Men’s and Women’s RS:X Windsurfers will enjoy a day off on Tuesday 27 July and the Laser and Laser Radial fleets will continue their competition.

Taking to the water for the first time will be the Men’s Skiff – 49er, Women’s Skiff – 49erFX and the Men’s Heavyweight One Person Dinghy – Finn.

LINKY

RESULTS

**Photoboy** · 07-27-2021, 09:12 AM

Roble & Shea Impressive In Enoshima Debut

Enoshima, Japan – With the addition of the 49erFX skiff and Finn heavyweight dinghy fleets to the sailing action off Enoshima, Japan, American sailing fans were able to watch three additional U.S. athletes competing near the front of their fleets at Tokyo 2020.

Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wis.) and Maggie Shea (Wilmette, Ill.) opened their Olympic careers in the 49erFX in solid fashion, earning scores of 3, 2, (14) to end the day in second overall. The pair started cleanly in each of their races and demonstrated both speed and control despite the heavy winds present during the first two races.

“It was definitely a tricky day out there,” said Roble, the 2014 US Sailing Yachtswoman of Year. “We just really focused on having our heads on a swivel to see the pressure as best we could, to stay on the lifted tack and in the most pressure on the racecourse.”

Tokyo 2020 is the second Olympic regatta fearing the women’s skiff class. Despite facing other strong teams who have the benefit of experience from Rio 2016, Roble and Shea expressed confidence in their five-year campaign and in their Tokyo 2020 event preparations.

“I think we did a good job of taking advantage of the extra year [of the Games delay], just keeping the pedal down, really pushing hard and taking advantage of the few racing opportunities we had, said Roble. “We're really grateful for the team behind our team to keep pushing us hard.”

The U.S. 49erFX team nearly won the second race of the day, but a small boat handling error on the final leg allowed the British overall leaders to get around them. Despite this, Roble and Shea said that they were encouraged about their day, and that managing the unexpected was all part of the game. “We kind of knew everyone was going to have those [unexpected] moments at some point today, so we didn't get too frustrated,” said Shea, who finished 3rd with Roble at the 2019 Worlds. “We even laughed a little bit, and just moved on.”

In the Finn, Luke Muller (Ft. Pierce, Fla.) also made his Olympic Games debut. Muller is coming off a strong performance at the Finn Gold Cup (world championship) earlier in 2021, where he placed 6th. Scores of 6, 11 on his first day of racing in Enoshima have him sitting in 7th overall.

“The breeze was offshore, puffy and shifty,” said Muller. “We had a lot of lead changes and there were big holes, so sometimes you’d be motoring across the fleet and other times you’d be fully stopped. It was all about connecting pressure and being really observant and opportunistic.”

When asked if Olympic racing felt any different from competing at a Worlds or other top-level event, Muller said that an extra level of energy was tangible. “The racing is really tight, and when you lose 4 or 5 boats, because the fleet is so small, it’s a big portion of the fleet. Every boat counts.”

In the Laser, Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) logged two solid single-digit scores, with a 5, (26), 9 in three races. The two-time Olympian now sits in 16th overall with six races completed, and the Lasers will get a rest day on day four. Laser Radial athlete Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) continued a run of tough scores, with a 25 in the first race of the day, and a UFD penalty wiping out a strong tactical performance in Race 6. Railey sits in 39th overall.

RS:X athletes Pedro Pascual (Miami, Fla.) and Farrah Hall (Annapolis, MD) had a rest day on day three, and will return to action on day four. Also entering the fray will be Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.), Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.), Nikole Barnes (St. Thomas, USVI) and Lara Dallman-Weiss (Shoreview, Minn.), who will compete in the opening races of the Men’s and Women’s 470 events. Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, Calif.) and Anna Weis (Fort Lauderdale, FL) will represent Team USA in the Nacra 17 foiling multihull.

The NBC Olympics website is hosting the Tokyo 2020 sailing event for U.S. audiences starting at 11:00 PM EDT (8:00 PM PDT) during the event. There are two televised race areas per day, the “Enoshima” and “Kamakura” courses. As the classes rotate through each course daily, different athletes will be featured on the broadcast.

RESULTS

BROADCAST SCHEDULE

https://www.ussailing.org/olympics/tokyo/

**Conan the Librarian** · 07-27-2021, 10:58 AM

There is hope!

**Photoboy** · 07-28-2021, 11:49 AM

Big Wave Action Engulfs Enoshima

Enoshima is famous, notorious even, for its big wave action, and that’s what the sailors got on day four of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing Competition.

Eight out of ten fleets were racing on Wednesday, with only the Laser and Laser Radial having a rest day. Some sailors put down some big markers with dominant performances in the 470 Women and Nacra 17.

In the Men’s and Women’s Skiff events, both halves of an engaged couple are sharing the limelight in their respective boats, Dylan Fletcher (GBR) taking the lead in the 49er and his fiancée Charlotte Dobson (GBR) maintaining top spot in the 49erFX.

Alongside the big waves across Sagami Bay, the sailors thrived in 14-17 knots of consistent south westerly breeze that gave them a stern test.

Men’s Windsurfer – RS:X

Kiran Badloe shot back into the lead, looking very comfortable in the stronger breeze. Scores of 2,4,1 put the Dutchman eight points ahead of second placed Mattia Camboni, the Italian who had held the lead before today’s racing. France’s Thomas Goyard is in third place, five points adrift of Camboni.

The biggest mover of the day was Kun Bi, the tall Chinese sailor revelling in the big wind, big wave conditions with results of 1,3,2. Another windy day like that and China could be challenging for the podium.

Badloe is keeping in touch online with his friend Dorian van Rijsselberghe, the double Olympic Champion whom he beat to Dutch selection. “We have a little chat every now and again, so that’s good. He’s given me a couple of pointers. Stay calm. Do your thing. And he just reassures me that if I just do what I do, the end will be alright.”

Women’s Windsurfer – RS:X

Emma Wilson (GBR) won the first two races of the day to move into the lead of the RS:X Women’s fleet. Although a U-flag disqualification for breaking the line too soon in the final race was not the ideal end to the outing, the British windsurfer was very upbeat about her performance.

Winning the last race of the session put Yunxiu Lu just one point off the lead, the Chinese sailor looking very strong in the wind and the waves.

Although the defending Olympic Champion Charline Picon didn’t win any races, the Frenchwoman remains very consistent and only three points off the lead. The top three have formed a breakaway on the rest of the fleet, and it’s 14 points further back to Italy’s Marta Maggetti. The chasing sailors need a really good day on Thursday to threaten Great Britain, China and France for the medals.

“It was a very hard battle with Emma [Wilson] and Yunxiu [Lu], they both had very good races,” commented Picon, “but they also had one bad one, so the situation between us is very interesting. They had a better day than me but I still had a good one so we are in a good battle.”

Men’s Heavyweight One Person Dinghy – Finn

Points are tight after four Finn races, but Alican Kaynar (TUR) is doing just enough to stay in the lead after his spectacular opening day.

Now, though, the Turk is on equal points with the Hungarian, Zsombor Berecz, in second place.

Just a point off the joint-leaders is 23-year-old Joan Cardona, the Spaniard continuing to prove that he can hold his own against the seniors on the biggest stage.

The day belonged to defending Olympic Champion Giles Scott, however, with the Briton winning both races and revelling in the big waves. After a slow start to the regatta, Scott’s double-bullet day puts him just three points off the lead. He’s known for being able to work the waves perhaps better than anyone.

Scott commented, “[Wind] pressure was super strategic today and there were really nice waves to surf. So you find a bit of pressure and get it, get a few good waves, you can extend away. But in this heat, there’s a little bit of energy maintenance needed too, to make sure you have something in the tank for upwind.”

Scott was relieved to have overcome a difficult first day. “It was a shaky start, but I’ve got a bit of a history of shaky starts so let’s hope I continue more like today.”

Men’s Two Person Dinghy – 470

Reigning World Champions Anton Dahlberg and Fredrik Bergstrom won the opening race of the Men’s 470 competition in 16 knots of wind and big waves.

However, the Swedes got in a mess on the first leg of race two, forced to take penalty turns and pushed back in the fleet, leaving them with a 15th place at the finish. More consistent were the Olympic silver medallists from Rio 2016, Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS) who hold a one point lead after two races, just in front of this year’s European Champions, Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox (NZL).

The next five boats are all on 11 points, three points off second, and they are Spain, Great Britain, Japan, France and Greece.

Jordi Xammar and Nico Rodriguez (ESP) had a slow start to their regatta with a tenth place but made amends with a commanding race win in the second race.

Xammar was unworried by the poor first race. “Winning the second race, I think we showed ourselves that we can come back from bad situations. Perhaps we were a bit hasty with our first decisions, but this is something normal for a big event like the Games.

“I have discussed this with my psychologist. We did not worry. It is normal, because the first day is always more complicated. The goal was to get through the first day safely. We are ready and we have a brutal desire to perform well.”
Women’s Two Person Dinghy – 470

It’s not like Agnieszka Skrzypulec and Jolanta Ogar are unknown in the 470 fleet, but the Polish team were not expected to win both races on day one of the 470 Women’s competition. Poland hit the afterburners to run away with the overall lead ahead of a couple of the favourites.

Camille Lecointre and Aloise Retornaz (FRA) sit three points behind the leaders, and two points further back are Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre (GBR).

Even at her third Games, Mills confessed to having butterflies in her stomach. “I think I was really nervous today. The first day is always the worst. Just waiting and waiting and waiting and you just want to start the sailing. There was just an anticipation to get going,” said the defending Olympic Champion, who enjoyed the racing. “We were expecting more wind than we got, but the waves are still pretty big. For a first day, it was just phenomenal conditions. It’s what we remember about sailing in Japan, and it’s amazing.”

Men’s Skiff – 49er

Great Britain’s Dylan Fletcher and Stu Bithell improved throughout the day, winning the last race and moving into the overall lead of the Men’s Skiff – 49er fleet.

It was the Spanish who had the best day in the gnarly waves, with scores of 1,2,5 putting Diego Botin and Iago Marra (ESP) just a point behind the British.

In third place are the Australian brothers, Will and Sam Phillips, who are known for coming on strong in the strong breeze. On the same points in fourth place are Bart Lambriex and Pim Van Vugt (NED), with two 49er Olympic Champions in fifth and sixth overall. The 2016 gold medallists Pete Burling and Blair Tuke are fifth, a point ahead of 2008 gold medallist Jonas Warrer and his crew, 20 years his junior, Jakob Precht Jensen.

Stu Bithell was impressed by the steadiness of his helmsman in the big conditions, “Dylan was very good actually, not as twitchy as he can be! Nice smooth gybes, and really good in the last race. We grabbed the bull by the horns, won the starboard end and managed to dominate the race from there.”

Women’s Skiff – 49erFX

Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey (GBR) may not have won a race in the big waves today, but 4,2,5 scores keeps the British in the lead by five points from the Dutch, who had the best results from the outing.

Double World Champions Annemiek Bekkering and Annette Duetz (NED) notched up two races wins and a sixth, looking very comfortable in the difficult conditions. Two points behind them are the reigning World Champions from Spain, Tamara Echegoyen and Paula Barcelo.

Bekkering admitted sailing the skiff in those waves is constant stress, “You can’t push the boat to 100%, otherwise you capsize, so it’s quite stressful concentrating so hard, but the stress is enjoyable too. It’s part of what makes sailing these boats so fun.”

Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17

Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti made a big statement on the opening day of the Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17 racing, winning two races and coming third in the other. The Italians have always been fast downwind, especially in big waves that can bite without warning.

If it was not for misjudging their approach to the finish line of the third race and letting two boats slip past, Santiago Lange and Cecilia Carranza (ARG) would be sitting in second place overall, but the defending Olympic Champions are in fifth.

Instead, it’s the young German team of Paul Kohlhoff and Alica Stuhlemmer who hold second spot, on equal points with Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin of Australia. Places second to sixth are separated by a single point, so this competition looks set to be very open and competitive all the way to the Medal Race.

Lange was buzzing from a high-adrenalin day on the water, and he was still buzzing from sharing flag bearing duties with Carranza at the Opening Ceremony. He commented, “Fascinating, indescribable. I think the picture of the Opening Ceremony, sharing the moment with Ceci, it’s the best picture of my career.”

As for the opening day of racing, “It was a lot of pressure. Three laps for us – it’s not our sweet game, but we managed to perform well. We’ve got the speed, so we’ll see what we can do this week.”

The 49erFX are the only fleet who will enjoy a rest day on Thursday with the 49er scheduled for two races to catch up on those lost during Tuesday’s action. Racing will start at 12:00 JST and every fleet will start to enter the business end of the competition with races now coming thick and fast.

Words by Andy Rice – World Sailing
Photography by Sailing Energy / World Sailing

RESULTS

https://tokyo2020.sailing.org/news/

**Photoboy** · 07-29-2021, 09:31 AM

The Light Shines On US Sailors

Enoshima, Japan – The highlights of the day for the US Sailing Team came in the Men’s RS:X and Men’s Laser classes, where years of effort and steady improvement paid off for two athletes competing in their second consecutive Olympic regatta. In a day five that was a close copy of day four from a weather perspective, Enoshima delivered wind, waves and close racing among the world’s best dinghy, board and multihull sailors.

RS:X board sailor Pedro Pascual (Miami, Fla.) entered day five of the event with a chance to cement his substantial improvement from Rio 2016 by earning a medal race berth. A 7th place in the final full-fleet race clinched the significant career milestone for the Miami native. “In the final race, I just knew that I had to keep my confidence up, and not worry about the medal race too much,” said Pascual, who finished 28th in his Olympic debut five years ago. “The first two races didn’t go my way, and I figured it couldn’t be three in a row.”

Pascual earned six single-digit scores across 12 races after never fished higher than 20th in Rio. “It’s been a hard five years,” said Pascual. “I made a commitment to improving after Rio, and I’m proud and excited to represent Team USA in the medal race on Saturday.” Saturday’s RS:X medal race will feature 10 competitors, and will count for double points. Pascual enters the medal race in 9th overall, and a chance to move up as high as 8th.

In the Laser, Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) had one of the best performances by an American sailor in the men’s singlehanded class in recent memory, with his 3, 2 scoreline on the day trailing only that of regatta leader Matt Wearn (AUS), who notched a 1,1. “The two races were pretty similar,” said Buckingham, a two-time College Sailor of the Year. “The key was to get off the line and hike as hard as you can. It was a speed race, and I had pretty good speed today, so that served me well.”

Buckingham now stands in 8th overall, and the top-10 field in the Laser features a notably tight points spread heading into the final day of full-fleet racing on Friday. “The goal for tomorrow is to have another day like today. The beginning of the regatta was a bit up and down. I knew I had to put in a good day today, and that's the plan tomorrow as well.”

In the Men’s 470, four-time Olympian Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and Rio 2016 returner Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.) finished 9, 10 on the day, and sit in 11th overall. The 4th place finishers from Rio flashed their well-documented speed in both races but encountered frustration along the way. McNay and Hughes rounded the first mark of Race 3 in 3rd, but fell to 9th at the finish in a deep class featuring a 13-point spread between 3rd and 12th places overall. In Race 4, the veteran pair had a tough start, rounded the first mark in 15th, but recovered to 10th.

In the men’s heavyweight Finn class, Luke Muller (Ft. Pierce, Fla.) had a tough Race 5 to open the day, but bounced back in a big way by rounding the first weather mark of Race 6 in the lead. The 2013 U.S. Youth Champion battled with a far-launched group of leaders before ultimately finishing 4th and ending the day in 12th overall.

“The last two days I had a lot of trouble downwind, but I think I was just doing a bit too much and not letting myself feel the waves,” said Muller. “After the first upwind of that last race today, rounding in front without a lot of pressure on, I just kind of slowed things down and got on some waves. It was really nice to finish on a high going into the [Finn class] rest day. We have a lot of racing ahead and a lot of work to be done.”

In the Nacra 17, Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, Calif.) and Anna Weis (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) had some notable moments, including rounding the first mark of Race 6 in the lead. Ultimately, Gibbs and Weis finished with a 6, 1, (13) on the day, and sit in 10th overall.

“I think we’re fast but pretty inconsistent,” said Gibbs. “We’re working on our technique downwind, and on working together. I think we can race with anyone in this fleet, and we’re just excited for the days head.” Weis added that racing a foiling class in big swells requires both mental and physical resilience. “It’s pretty full on. You have to really be ‘on it’ every second. You can’t let up your focus for one instant. As the race goes on, and you get tired, it becomes a bigger mental challenge, but a rewarding one if you can keep the hammer down.”

In the Women’s 470, Nikole Barnes (St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.) and Lara Dallman-Weiss (Shoreview, Minn.) scored a (15), 13 and now sit in 13th overall. The pair have so far exclusively raced on the inshore “Enoshima” course during the first four races of their series, and will get to try their hands at the “Zushi” course further offshore on Friday.

Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.) concluded her event with a 16, 16, 16 in the 27-board Women’s RS:X fleet, ending the regatta in 15th overall. As full-fleet racing has ended, and Hall is not in the top-10 overall, she will not progress to the medal race. Tokyo 2020 is the second Olympics for Hall, who finished 20th at London 2012. Hall raced in heavy winds and big waves for much of the week, conditions she noted she has struggled with in the past, but showed significant improvement off Enoshima.

“As far as competition goes, this is one of the best regattas that I've ever had,” said Hall. “My speed was awesome. I was smoking around the course and I had some good fights. What I'm really happy with is that I gave 100 percent, did everything that I could, and I sailed well. I didn't make any major mistakes and I finished with a really good regatta for me. In London, I was a little bit less prepared just because I was more of a rookie and I wasn't extremely happy with my regatta. But at Tokyo 2020 I can say that I'm very happy with this regatta. I have a huge appreciation for the RS:X class, where you have to be a real athlete to sail it.”

Racing will continue on Friday, July 30, with all classes competing except for the Finn and RS:X fleets, which will have an off day. The 49er and 49erFX will return to action.

Racing will continue on Thursday, July 29, with all classes competing except for the 49er and 49erFX fleets, which will have an off day. The NBC Olympics website is hosting the Tokyo 2020 sailing event for U.S. audiences starting at 11:00 PM EDT (8:00 PM PDT) during the event. There are two televised race areas per day, the “Enoshima” and “Kamakura” courses. As the classes rotate through each course daily, different athletes will be featured on the broadcast.

**Photoboy** · 07-30-2021, 03:20 PM

The Cream Rises In Enoshima

Matt Wearn has wrapped up the gold medal in the Men’s One Person Dinghy – Laser at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing Competition, making him the third consecutive Australian to have achieved the feat.

Denmarks’ Anne-Marie Rindom could have done the same in the Women’s One Person Dinghy – Laser Radial, but for a big misunderstanding.

It was very light and fluky conditions, not for the faint hearted. Some adapted to the new breeze and others have suffered as the breeze got harder to read.

Men’s One Person Dinghy – Laser

Even light and fluky winds couldn’t hold up the relentless march of Matt Wearn who secured the gold medal for Australia this afternoon. With a 22-point advantage, Sunday’s Medal Race will be a formality for the jubilant Australian, who was met by his girlfriend still in contention for a Laser Radial medal, Emma Plasschaert from Belgium.

“It’s an amazing feeling, and thanks to a great training group that we’ve had back in Australia for a while now,” said Wearn. “It probably won’t be until I’ve had a bit of solitude in my room that it will all hit me, all the emotions. After the start of the week there was a little bit of doubt I’d be able to get back to here. I put myself in a pretty big deficit. These guys out here are amazing sailors and they’re not going to relinquish a lead if they’ve got one. So I knew I had to fight. And yeah, that’s what we did.”

After leading for much of the week, Pavlos Kontides’ ability to climb back from bad situations eluded him in the final race this afternoon. Instead, one poor downwind run – which plummeted the Cypriot from seventh to 23rd – dropped him out of the medals but not out of contention.

The points are very close between Hermann Tomasgaard of Norway in second, Tonci Stipanovic (CRO) in third, and Kontides now in fourth. Germany’s Philipp Buhl and Brazilian legend Robert Scheidt still have an outside shot at the podium.

Women’s One Person Dinghy – Laser Radial

If Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN) doesn’t win gold after Sunday’s Medal Race, the mistakes of today will haunt her for the rest of her life.

Much lighter wind conditions make for a lot more jeopardy in the Laser Radial. Not only is the wind hard to read when it’s in short supply, but the risk of being penalised for propelling the boat forward illegally through excessive body movement, fanning the sails or wagging the tiller to promote forward motion increases. The result can be a yellow flag from the on-water-jury. A first offence is a 720-degree penalty turn during the race and a second offence requires the sailor to retire from the race.

Rindom explained the nightmare scenario for her in the final race of the Laser Radial Opening Series, “I got a yellow flag in the first one for pumping up the downwind and then in the second start, I got the second yellow flag, which means that you have to retire from the race. And so I did.

“But then there was a general recall so there was a new start. I didn’t have enough time to talk to my coach if I could start or not. I simply didn’t know the rule that I could start in that race. I decided to start but then I decided to retire because I wasn’t sure and I didn’t want to get a DNE [non-discardable disqualification].

“Obviously that was wrong and I can only blame myself. I guess I should have known the rule. But I’ve never been in this situation in my whole career.”

For all that, Rindom still holds a seven-point advantage over arch-rival Marit Bouwmeester going into Sunday’s Medal Race. But today could have been the day that the Dane had put a padlock on the gold medal, just as Kiran Badloe (NED) did 24 hours before on his RS:X Windsurfer.

“I’m just devastated right now, it’s hard to be in my own body with so many emotions. But yeah, I just have to rise again and be ready for Sunday because nothing is over yet.”

Yesterday Bouwmeester’s hopes of the gold medal looked dead and buried, but Rindom’s pain is the defending Olympic Champion’s opportunity. It’s a huge momentum swing in favour of the Netherlands.

This is not as simple as a two-horse race, however. Josefin Olsson holds bronze medal position and the Swede, along with Canada, Belgium, Italy and Finland all have a shot at the podium this Sunday.

Men’s Skiff – 49er

It’s neck and neck at the top of the Men’s Skiff – 49er with Great Britain still holding the golden spot but now with New Zealand level on the same points. Just one point behind the leaders is Spain, with Denmark four points further back in fourth overall.

Pete Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL) had the most consistent day in a minefield of a race course, the only team to keep all their scores inside the top six.

“We always knew it was going to be a challenging day for us in those kind of conditions,” said Tuke. “To come back with three low ones is pretty pleasing. It was a heck of a fight.”

Women’s Skiff – 49erFX

Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey (GBR) took a tumble down the leaderboard from first to fourth place, although their points advantage from the windier days still has them well in touch with the front three.

Taking charge for the first time this week are double World Champions Annemiek Bekkering and Annette Duetz (NED), who hold top spot by just a point from the reigning World Champions from Spain, Tamara Echegoyen and Paula Barcelo.

The reigning Olympic Champions Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA) moved into the top three for the first time this week.

Bekkering was pleased with their boat speed and tactics, commenting, “We got good starts, the boat was going fast and we managed to find some good lanes in the tricky breeze. It’s a different style of sailing from what we have done the last days in the big wind, and I think we adapted well.”

Men’s Two Person Dinghy – 470

Even in today’s patchy, unreadable breeze Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS) succeeded in stretching further ahead of their rivals in the Men’s Two Person Dinghy – 470 fleet. Scores of 4,3 extend the Australian advantage to 11 points ahead of Luke Patience and Chris Grube (GBR) who continue to hold second place. A good outing for Paul Snow-Hansen and Dan Willcox moves the New Zealanders into the bronze medal position.

Belcher looks so relaxed, as well he could be the way the double Olympic medallist is sailing. “We feel like we’ve got a really good rhythm and we’re out there having fun, just trying to keep that momentum going as long as we can.”

Women’s Two Person Dinghy – 470

The lighter breeze brought out the best from local heroes Ai Kondo and Miho Yoshioka (JPN) who scored two second places in the 470 Women. It moves the Japanese up to fourth overall and makes them the likeliest bet for an Olympic medal for the host nation.

It’s still an 11-point gap to third place, held by France’s Camille Lecointre and Aloise Retornaz (FRA), who are three points behind Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre (GBR) in second overall.

Given the choice of the physical stress of pushing her body to the max in the stronger conditions of the previous days, or the mental torture of a lighter day like today, McIntyre says there’s no contest, “Today you feel like you have so little control, it could go either way on some of those beats. It’s much easier when you can apply some physicality to the boat and really help make the boat go faster in stronger winds. It’s a big change of mentality from one condition to another.”

Currently able to discard their 13th place from the earlier race of the day, a race win for Agnieszka Skrzypulec and Jolanta Ogar (POL) keeps the Polish in the lead with a four-point buffer to the British.

Coming Next

Saturday 31 July will see the Men’s and Women’s RS:X sail their Medal Races. Kiran Badloe (NED) has one hand on gold in the men’s and it will be a three-way shootout in the women’s fleet.

The 49er and 49erFX will complete their Opening Series and the Men’s and Women’s 470 will enjoy a rest day.

All but the top ten Laser and Laser Radial sailors will remain in the boat park for Sunday’s Medal Race as they also have a rest day.

The Finn and the Nacra 17 fleets will return back to action as their competition goes beyond the midway point.

Words by Andy Rice – World Sailing
Photography by Sailing Energy / World Sailing

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**Photoboy** · 08-02-2021, 10:44 AM

Riley Gibbs & Anna Weis Await Medal Race

Enoshima, Japan – A lack of wind forced the postponement of racing in all active sailing events on Monday at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. After a lengthy onshore delay, the Race Committee elected to push Monday’s scheduled races to Tuesday, including the 49er and 49erFX skiff medal races that had been planned for today.

“[The latest weather information] is too uncertain to rely on and leaves too little time for launching and preparing to race with the deadline of 1630 for a warning signal,” said Principal Race Officer Tom Duggan regarding the skiff races via official communication at 14:34 local time. “With the stronger forecast for tomorrow, the Race Committee's decision is that racing is postponed.”

US Sailing Team athletes will be in action in three classes on Tuesday, including in the Nacra 17 medal race, which will be broadcast live around the world. Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, Calif.) and Anna Weis (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) earned their medal race berth after a strong performance on the final day of qualifying races off Enoshima. The first-time Olympians and Pan American Games gold medalists are mathematically eliminated from medal contention in Tokyo, but stand in 9th overall and could advance as high as 7th during Tuesday’s medal race.

In the Men’s and Women’s 470 classes, US Sailing Team athletes are in tight qualifying battles for the medal race in both fleets. Following the two races scheduled for Tuesday in each class, the top ten teams will advance. Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.) stand in 11th overall. In the women’s fleet, Nikole Barnes (St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.) and Lara Dallman-Weiss (Shoreview, Minn.) sit in 9th overall.

Planned Schedule for Tuesday, August 3 (Day 10):
1200 Local - Women’s 470 Race 9 (Barnes and Dallman-Weiss)
1210 Local - Men’s 470 Race 9 (McNay and Hughes)
1230 Local - 49erFX Medal Race - Televised
1330 Local - 49er Medal Race - Televised
1430 Local - Finn Medal Race - Televised
1530 Local - Nacra 17 Medal Race (Gibbs and Weis) - Televised

Completed Racing for Team USA:

Women’s 49erFX - Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wis.) Maggie Shea (Wilmette, Ill.) - 11th Overall
Women’s Laser Radial - Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) - 37th Overall
Men’s Laser - Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) - 13th Overall
Women’s RS:X - Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.) - 15th Overall -
Men’s RS:X - Pedro Pascual (Miami, Fla.) - 9th Overall,
Men’s Finn - Luke Muller (Ft. Pierce, Fla.) - 13th Overall

https://www.ussailing.org/news/tokyo-comms-8/

**Photoboy** · 08-03-2021, 11:19 AM

Medals Evasive For US Sailors

Enoshima, Japan – Four medal races and the end of 470 qualifying action combined to create a memorable tenth day of sailing at Tokyo 2020, which saw the US Sailing Team compete in the Nacra 17 medal race and in both 470 fleets. In the Nacra 17, Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, Calif.) and Anna Weis (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) submitted a strong 3rd place performance in the double-points medal race and ended their event in 9th overall. Team USA’s Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.) will compete in the Men’s 470 medal race tomorrow, while Nikole Barnes (St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.) and Lara Dallman-Weiss (Shoreview, Minn.) narrowly missed qualifying in the Women’s 470 and finished 12th overall.

For Gibbs and Weis, who began their campaign three years ago in the high-performance foiling mixed multihull, an excellent showing in the medal race capped a rapid ascent through the international Nacra 17 ranks. The Pan American Games gold medalists executed one of the strongest starts in the fleet, and used that as a springboard to finish 3rd in the race and 9th overall.

“I thought we did a really good job with our [starting] line homework and our procedures going into it,” said Gibbs, who medaled at the Youth World Sailing Championship in 2014. “We've developed a process with starting and Anna was doing a really good job calling our distance from the line and where boats were behind us. It was really nice to have everyone else fighting each other out there, and that gave us a green light to have our own start. And it's nice that we were able to execute something that we've been working on for the last three years or so.”

Gibbs and Weis earned single-digit scores in 8 of the 13 races they sailed this week, a few of which involved comebacks from deep in the highly-accomplished pack. “I think our strength of the week was our ability to rally and reset after having a bad race or errors,” said Weis, who along with Gibbs was coached by Beijing 2008 U.S. Olympian Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.). “Having that in our back pocket, and being able to reset and really move forward and focus on one race at a time really helped us out and allowed us to compete in each moment.”

Gibbs was quick to mention that a key part of their ability to become competitive in the international fleet was a strong group of teams back home in the U.S. “We had amazing training partners like Bora Gulari, Louisa Chafee, Helena Scutt, Sarah Newberry, David Liebenberg, Ravi Parent, and Caroline Atwood. Making the medal race here is an accomplishment, and to be able to say that they've really helped us out I think is really special. They should feel connected to this.”

Weis also expressed hope that seeing the visually dynamic foiling multihulls on NBC back home would boost the sport in the U.S. “I hope the coverage on TV inspires more young women to get involved and get into the class because it's mixed gender,” said Weis, who in addition to her multihull credentials was the 2016 Women’s Singlehanded National Champion in the Laser Radial. “I think sometimes girls shy away from [mixed gender sailing]. But I think the mixed gender aspect creates a really fun and challenging dynamic. So hopefully that inspires more females to get involved.”

Stu McNay (Providence, RI) and Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.)
Image © Sailing Energy / US Sailing.

In the Men’s 470, Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.) faced a do-or-die battle to get into the medal race heading into the final two qualifying races today. With an 8,11, they moved up to 10th overall secured their spot in tomorrow’s final. However, the 4th place finishers from Rio 2016 were mathematically eliminated from medal contention here in Tokyo.

“At the at the end of the day, we're happy to have made the medal race,” said Hughes, who is competing at his second consecutive Games as an athlete after also coaching the Team USA 49er at London 2012. “This regatta has been a knife fight and the standard that this 470 fleet has shown is impressive. Our class has really grown during this five year period since the last Olympics, and it is amazing to see what people have done to build their performance, ourselves included. It is just so inspiring to sail at this level against competitors who we've known for years, and who we really respect.”

While a medal may be out of reach, McNay and Hughes have the opportunity to significantly advance up the standings tomorrow. The Americans will enter the race in 10th overall with 78 points, and could advance as high as 6th overall.

“Tomorrow, the plan is absolutely to win the medal race,” said Hughes. “If you're not willing to totally grab these opportunities, then you really shouldn't be in the medal race. It will also be bittersweet, because tomorrow represents the last two medal races of this era of Olympic 470 sailing [since the class will become a mixed-gender Olympic event moving forward]. It’s absolutely an honor to be part of that.”

Nikki Barnes (St. Thomas, USVI) and Lara Dallman-Weiss (Shoreview, Minn.)
Image © Sailing Energy / US Sailing.
Download here for editorial use; password "USA".
In the Women’s 470, first-time Olympians Nikole Barnes (St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.) and Lara Dallman-Weiss (Shoreview, Minn.) were called over the start line in Race 9, and earned a UFD penalty. In the final qualifying race, they came in contact with the pin end of the line during the start, and finished 19th. Unfortunately, despite battling in the top ten overall for much of the past five days of racing, Barnes and Dallman-Weiss dropped to 12th on Tuesday and narrowly missed medal race qualification.

Despite the pressure of a medal race berth being up for grabs today, the Americans sought to execute strong starts and control their destiny. “We're not a team that usually gets letter scores; I think that's usually one of our strengths,” said Dallman-Weiss. “Throughout the regatta we saw that the first beat was just so important, and on this last day we wanted to fight for a great spot [on the starting line] and it just didn't work out. Olympic sailing is all about fighting until the last race.”

While the team expressed disappointment at missing the medal race, they also said that they were pleased with their progress since teaming up three years ago. “In our [pre-pandemic] World Championship before the most recent Worlds in Vilamoura [Portugal] this year, we finished 30th. Then in 2021 we finished seventh at the Worlds. The numbers [from Tokyo] don't show the full story of our team, and all the hard work that has gone into it,” said Barnes, who is an active-duty officer in the United States Coast Guard. “Of course, we wanted to make the medal race and to be in medal contention. But I guess this is the universe's way of saying ‘not this time, nice job, but keep pushing.’ So it's heartbreaking, but we also learned a ton and we left it all out on the water.”
Planned Schedule for Wednesday, August 4 (Day 11):

1430 Local Time - Men’s 470 Medal Race (McNay and Hughes)
Completed Racing for Team USA:

Women’s 49erFX - Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wis.) Maggie Shea (Wilmette, Ill.) - 11th Overall - Final Recap
Women’s Laser Radial - Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) - 37th Overall, Final Recap
Men’s Laser - Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) - 13th Overall - Final Recap
Women’s RS:X - Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.) - 15th Overall - Final Recap
Men’s RS:X - Pedro Pascual (Miami, Fla.) - 9th Overall, Final Recap
Men’s Finn - Luke Muller (Ft. Pierce, Fla.) - 13th Overall
Women’s 470 - Nikole Barnes (St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.) and Lara Dallman-Weiss (Shoreview, Minn.) - 12th Overall
Mixed Nacra 17 - Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, Calif.) and Anna Weis (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) - 9th Overall

https://www.ussailing.org/news/mcnay...s-9th-overall/

**Photoboy** · 08-05-2021, 10:06 AM

Take A Letter Maria...

August 5, 2021

To supporters of our team,

I am departing Japan today after absorbing the Olympic environment, observing our team in action and getting pointers from old friends who have been running teams in this game for decades. It has been a great opportunity for me as I embark on what I expect to be a seven-year mission of leading the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team back to the top of the podium.

Our team prepared hard for the last five years, and raced with intensity and professionalism here on the big stage. While we were not medal favorites in any event, each of our 13 Olympians were competitive in the most elite field of play in the sport. They represented their country extremely well, both on and off the water. They also worked through unprecedented pandemic-related challenges that impacted both their performance development and their lives in general. The 2020 Team is to be commended for their dedication and perseverance.

As has been noted before, Team USA has a long history of dominance in Olympic Sailing. At Los Angeles 1984, our team won nothing but Gold and Silver in all seven events. In the eight years from ’84-‘92, we were the dominant sailing team in the world, winning 21 medals. In the last three Olympiads, 2012-2020, Team USA has come away with a total of one bronze. We are no longer the winningest nation in Olympic history. That honor has now gone to Great Britain, who have been the dominant team after a complete makeover of their strategy following Atlanta 1996.

Many of us in America are dissatisfied by our Olympic sailing trend and want to correct our course. While being in the middle of the pack is not a bad thing, it is just not how Americans think of themselves. Moving up the Olympic pecking order is not going to be easy. No one is going to get out of our way. We need to build a machine that puts teams and athletes in a position where their usual routine will produce a podium result on a regular basis. This is about cultivation, education, preparation and execution on game day. This is about proper process and procedure.

So where are we now, as we form our strategy for the next seven years? We did produce gold-medal quality athlete support here in Japan. Team USA’s logistical, organizational and technical support was highly regarded by all national teams. However, we need the resources to allow this to occur more frequently and consistently throughout the quadrennium. Seven of our Tokyo 2020 athletes, along with other standout Americans who did not win their Olympic trials, have already committed to continuing towards Paris 2024. Continuity is critical and commendable after the sacrifices already made over the past five years.

We have a strong pipeline of talent back home who have been boosted by our Olympic Development Program. This includes our dinghy, skiff, board and foiling communities. In the last four years, the USA has been the dominant player at the U19 level and those athletes, worldwide, are now coming up to their Olympic teams. Five of the events in 2024 will be new. Change creates opportunity, if you are not “king of the hill” in the current game.

We have a good core of supporters who believe that Olympic sailing is important to all of sailing through creating a depth of talent that permeates the sport. Olympic sailing inspires youth sailors and teaches life skills along the way. It builds people who can lead, make decisions and be team players.

In the USA, we also possess excellence in key sectors that contribute to winning in sports. These include technology, organization, elite athleticism, coaching, and financial resources. We don’t have to reinvent anything. We simply need to design a system and process to bring that excellence to bear on the field of play. A machine that will be sustainable for years to come.

We have good insights as to how other countries play the game, but no other country’s strategy will work for us. Each country has unique challenges and its own strengths, weaknesses and culture. When strategizing, these attributes must be measured against a constantly changing performance environment. The task here is to design the right strategy to get to the front of the pack and stay ahead of that evolution.

I have taken on the Executive Director role in U.S. Olympic Sailing because I am passionate about getting Team USA back to the top. The Olympics is a source of national pride and a measure of competence in each sport. I want our sailors to be acknowledged as the best sailors in the world, once again. I want our youth to be inspired by U.S. idols in their sport. I also want them to learn the valuable life skills that fighting to be the best instills.

This is more than a project; it needs to be a movement. That means broad support. I hope you are inspired to get involved. Support the junior program at your club, support an individual athlete who is dreaming big, or support the US Sailing Team. If you feel moved to contribute ideas, time or dollars, write to me: paulcayard@ussailing.org.

- Paul

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