Holding form at Clearwater OCR

Clearwater, FL (February 6, 2021) – Sailors experienced another day of various conditions and new challenges on the water at Day 3 of Clearwater OCR, with tomorrow as the final day of the third stage of the 2021 West Marine US Open Sailing Series.

The Open and Men’s iQFoil fleets enjoyed a physical day on the water in the conditions. The men completed six more races and the Open fleet totaled five races. They raced a slalom course in 8 to 12 knots with light swell.

In the Men’s fleet, Mateus Isaac (Sao Paulo, BRA) continues his hot streak with 14 consecutive wins to remain perfect for the regatta. He holds a 21-point lead over Adrien Gaillard (MEX). Alexander Temko (Palm Harbor, Fla.) is the top American in third place. Temko has seven top three finishes, including three today.

Mariana Aguilar Chavez Peon (MEX) won the first 11 races of the regatta until Race 12 where she placed third. This currently stands as her throw-out score after winning Race 13. She has an 11-point lead over Giovanna Prada (BRA) who won Race 12. Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.) remains the top American in third place. She has seven top three finishes this week.

Donna Sue Marks, Deputy Race Officer for the kites and boards has been running races with kites for six years. “We’ve seen the progression of the U.S. sailors and it gets better every year. I was at the US Open in Miami with the iQFoils and we didn’t have the conditions we had today. The sailors who were in Miami and are now in Clearwater got to experience better conditions. We are watching how the equipment is performing so we can report back to the class.”

The leaderboard got real tight in the Foiling Kites class in late afternoon racing. Passing showers and light breeze kept the kites grounded for the earlier part of the day. Markus Edegran (West Palm Beach, Fla.) had a six-point leader over Evan Heffernan (Santa Barbara, Calif.) after yesterday’s races.

However, Edegran did not compete today due to an injury. Heffernan posted 1-2-2-3 scores to take over the lead. Cai Calder (Alameda, Calif.) bounced back after a DNC in today’s first race, with three straight wins in Races 13, 14, and 15. Calder is in second place and two points behind.

US Sailing Team Coach Charlie McKee is impressed with the competition and fascinated by the kites at the event. “These kites are up on hydrofoils so the speeds they are sailing at are very high. Despite how fast they are going they are so efficient and use tacking and gybing very little. It’s a great combination of really difficult technical skills, speed, and also tactics and strategy. It is amazing how close the racing is. The top three are typically finishing within five seconds of each other.”

All eyes are on the Laser Radial fleet as Chapman Petersen (Fontana, Wis.) continues to post strong scores through another three races. He leads overall by 11 points after a 2-6-2 today. The top women’s performer is Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) who is second overall. She leads Isabella Maegli Aguero (GUA) by 16 points. Aguero, Sarah Douglas (Toronto, CAN), and Charlotte Rose (Houston, Texas) each won a race today.

Leo Boucher (West River, Md.) posted a 2-3-3 scoring line and has a 17-point advantage heading into tomorow’s final set of races. Marshall McCann (Kemah, Texas), Charles Anderson (West River, Md.), and Humberto Porrata (North Palm Beach, Fla.) each posted wins.

Anna Vasilieva (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) continues her hold over the Laser 4.7 fleet with three more wins to remain perfect over nine races. Evan Wern (St. Petersburg, Fla.) is the top male sailor in the fleet and is in second overall.

Racing at Clearwater OCR is planned for February 4-7 in five classes for both men and women: Laser Standard, Laser Radial, Laser 4.7, iQFoil (Men, Open), and Foiling Kites.

US Open information – Event details – Results

Organized by US Sailing and host yacht clubs at venues in Florida and California, the inaugural 6-stage West Marine US Open Sailing Series seeks to fulfill demand for a racing and training platform based in the United States to provide a path to the Olympic Games for prospective athletes.

Source: US Sailing, Scuttlebutt