Racing for bank at Oakcliff Triple Crown

Stage 1 of the Oakcliff Triple Crown Series brought together 44 of the top North American sailors in the 49er, FX, and Nacra 17 on August 25-26 in Oyster Bay, NY. Nearly one hundred thousand dollars of prize grants were awarded to competitors based on performance in this regatta. These prize grants will be applied towards subsidizing the costs of their Olympics campaigns.

Chris Rast and Trevor Burd led the 49er fleet with a score line that included four bullets out of twelve races. Five points behind were Andrew Mollerus and Ian MacDiarmid. In third were Nevin Snow and Mac Agnese who also had four wins on their score line.

“The conditions were really puffy and tricky so our strategy was to stay consistent and take the points where we could get them…turning sixes into fours and threes into twos if we could,” said Burd, who actually competed in a local triathlon before the second day of racing. “I just wanted to stretch out the legs before racing, you know?”

Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea took first in the 49erFX. Just two points behind were Kate Shaner and Charlotte Mack, who gave it their all and passed Roble and Shea by a hair with a flawless gybe in the last minute of the final race but stayed just behind in points. In third were Paris Henken and Anna Tobias.

“There were really strong lefties and really strong righties but not much down the middle,” said Shaner. “It was hard to anticipate which way it would go so we talked before each start and just stayed ready for anything.”

Caroline Atwood and Ravi Parent dominated the Nacra 17s winning half of all their races. Sarah Newberry and David Liebenberg took second place five points behind and Ben Rosenberg and Sidney Charbonnet took third place.

“We had a lot of confidence in our boat speed and we were giving ourselves opportunities to use it,” said Atwood. “When we were in front we were covering and trusting in our boat speed to get us through shifty conditions. When we were behind we were splitting and trusting in our boat speed to give us enough leverage to come back at the top.”

Parent/ Atwood and Newberry/ Liebenberg will now head to Newport where they will continue training against one another before they put a few weeks in down at the US Sailing Training Center in Miami, FL.

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