American Sailors battling it out in Hyeres

Hyères, France (April 23, 2015) – Day Two of ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyères brought much more breeze and beaming sunshine to the waters surrounding this sailing-infused Mediterranean town. The result was nearly perfect racing conditions for the US Sailing Team Sperry and hundreds of international competitors.

Heading into the day in the overall lead and wearing gold jerseys in the Women’s 470 class was the team of Annie Haeger (East Troy, WI) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, CA). On Day Two, the pair scored a mid-fleet finish followed by a 7th, resulting in a three-way tie on points for first place, which puts the Americans in 2nd overall.

“The fleet here in general has been racing quite well, and it shows in the results,” said Provancha. “It’s getting harder to make comebacks, and you really have to be on your game. The level of racing here is definitely top notch.” Now sandwiched in the standings by the London 2012 Olympic gold and silver medal-winning teams from New Zealand and Great Britain, Haeger and Provancha will look to be at their best heading into tomorrow.

With slightly smaller fleet sizes in Hyères this year as the result of a new ISAF Sailing World Cup quota system, racing in each class has immediately taken on a level of intensity usually reserved for “gold fleet” racing at larger events. This has been evident in the Men’s 470 class, which boasts a deep pool of talent and technical sophistication. Winning the first race of the day was the American team of Stu McNay (Providence, RI) and Dave Hughes (San Diego, CA), who leaned on their great pace and extensive experience at this venue.

“The first race we sailed in a building sea breeze, and after we identified the correct side bias we played hard in that direction,” said two-time Olympian McNay. “Good speed helped us gain the lead and helped us increase that lead over the course of the race.” McNay and Hughes jumped from 15th to 6th overall on Day Two, and are now just a few points shy of the top three. “We are on track,” continued McNay. “I’m happy with our performance, and while there were opportunities to do better, we are on the right track for our performance goals.”

Other US Sailing Team Sperry athletes made large jumps today, such as Paige Railey (Clearwater, FL) in the Laser Radial, who moved up to 11th from 29th. Caleb Paine (San Diego, CA) is now in 9th overall in the Finn, improving from 13th. Paralympic classes newcomer and 5-time World Champion (in several classes) Dee Smith (Annapolis, MD) had his best race yet with a 3rd place in race four of the 2.4mR event, and moved up to 9th overall.

Racing continues on Friday with Day Three of ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyères. Medal races are scheduled for Sunday.

470 Women:

2nd overall, Annie Haeger (East Troy, WI) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, CA)
24th overall Sydney Bolger (Long Beach, CA) and Carly Shevitz (Santa Barbara, CA)

470 Men:

6th overall, Stu McNay (Providence, RI) and Dave Hughes (San Diego, CA)

2.4mR Paralympic (Open):

9th overall, Dee Smith (Annapolis, MD)

Finn Heavyweight Men:

9th overall, Caleb Paine (San Diego, CA)

Laser Radial Women

11th overall, Paige Railey (Clearwater, FL)

49erFX Women:

16th, Paris Henken (Coronado, CA) and Helena Scutt (Kirkland, WA)

Laser Men:

18th overall, Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, CA)

Nacra 17 Mixed:

23rd Sarah Newberry (Miami, FL) and Matthew Whitehead (Panama City, FL)

49er Men:

24th, Brad Funk (Miami, FL) and Trevor Burd (Marblehead, MA)

Event Website
Full Results

About the US Sailing Team Sperry
The US Sailing Team Sperry is managed by the United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for the sport of sailing and sailboat racing. The top boats in each Olympic and Paralympic class are selected annually to be members of the US Sailing Team Sperry. US Sailing helps these elite athletes with with financial, logistical, coaching, technical, fitness, marketing and communications support. The title sponsor of the team is Sperry; other sponsors include Gold-Level partner Sunbrella and Silver-Level partners Harken, Team McLube and Groupe Beneteau. Yale Cordage is a team supplier. The US Sailing Center Miami is an Olympic training site. Oakcliff Sailing and Clearwater Community Sailing Center are US Sailing Team Sperry Training Centers. Chubb Personal Insurance sponsors US Sailing’s National Team Tour, a nationwide presentation program for US Sailing Team Sperry athletes. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org/olympics

The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and growth for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. 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 US Sailing Team Sperry. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org