Vital prize grants at Oakcliff Triple Crown

The second stage of the 2018 Oakcliff Triple Crown Series attracted 40 teams competing in in five Olympics classes – 470W, 470M, 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 – on October 13-14 in Oyster Bay, NY. The difference between first and second was $5,000 in prize grants which are allocated to fund expenses that help teams work towards success in the 2020 Olympics games in Tokyo.

With the exception of 470 Men’s, no class was won by more than two points, providing the tightest racing yet in this series intended to provide vital financial support.

Sisters Emma and Carmen Cowles had a great last race to win the 470 Women’s class over Madeleine Rice and Laura Slovensky. Third went to Amanda Clark and Nora Brugman. The Cowles sisters were the 2017 and 2018 Youth Sailing World Champions in the 420 and were nominated for the Rolex Yachtswomen of the Year but this was their very first regatta in the 470 class.

Stu McNay and Dave Hughes showed unmatched dominance in the 470M with nothing but bullets on their score line. As Hughes continues his Olympic campaign with McNay he will also be training as a trimmer for the New York Yacht Club American Magic in the 36th America’s Cup.

The winners of the 49er class were Chris Rast with crew Trevor Burd who has also signed on as a trimmer with the American Magic team. Just 1 point behind were Canadians William Jones and Evan DePaul and 2 points further back in third were Andrew Mollerus and Ian MacDiarmid.

Paris Henken and Anna Tunnicliffe-Tobias won the 49erFX class. Henken represented the US in the FX at the 2016 Olympic games. Tunnicliffe is newer to the FX but has a Gold medal in the Laser Radial from the 2008 Olympics. They finished 2 points ahead of Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea. Henken and Tunnicliffe-Tobias were slightly better in the heavy air of day one and Roble and Shea in the lighter conditions on day two.

The Nacra 17 class was won on a tie breaker that took two rounds to break. After eight races it came down to who beat who in the last races, with Sarah Newberry and David Liebenburg getting the win in the foiling Nacra 17. Their training partners Ravi Parent and Caroline Atwood took second with Ben Rosenberg and Sidney Charbonnet in third. Earlier this summer, Rosenberg and Charbonnet trained together at Oakcliff’s High Performance Acorn camp and have been selected to compete in the Red Bull Foiling Generation.

Event details – Results

Background:
Following the inaugural edition in 2017, the Oakcliff Triple Crown Series continues in 2018 to reward athletes for their hard work and provide significant financial resources to assist them in achieving Olympic glory.

The three stage circuit to be held in five of the Olympic classes – Nacra 17, 49er, Fx, and 470 Men’s and Women’s – provides up To $500,000 in Prize Grants.

Stage 1 (470): July 14-15
Stage 1 (49er, 49erFX, Nacra 17): August 25-26
Stage 2 (all classes): October 12-14
Stage 3 (all classes): October 19-21

Notice of Race – Request for Invitation – Questions

Source: Francis George, Oakcliff