MIAMI BREEZE PLAYS HIDE AND SEEK ON DAY 1 OF WORLD CUP SERIES MIAMI

The wind played hide and seek for all of the morning—tempting at least one race officer into starting a race that would eventually be abandoned—before filling in the afternoon and allowing six of the 10 fleets to get in at least one race.

Miami is welcoming 543 sailors from 50 nations and when the wind did fill it, it remained light and fickle, and the challenge on Biscayne Bay was more mental than physical. But the mantra was still the same for any first day of a big regatta: minimize risk and avoid the big mistakes.

If British Men’s 470 skipper Luke Patience hasn’t seen everything Biscayne Bay can throw, then he’s darn close. Patience first sailed this event in 2006.

“It was long,” he said of his day. “We waited many hours for one race but it’s often like that here in Miami. Some days are good and some days you wait a long time. It was a good race in the end. It was tight, nose-to-tail for the whole fleet.”

Patience and crew Chris Grube (at left) finished second, grinding from fourth after the first mark and started their regatta off on a strong note.
“Everyone on the top of the fleet are here,” he said, “so it’s going to be a tough week. But we are looking forward to it.”


Luke Patience/Chris Grube (GBR) © Richard Langdon/Sailing Energy/World Sailing

The men’s and women’s Japanese 470 teams made a great start. Ai Kondo Yoshida and Miho Yoshioka (JPN), who sail in the women’s 470 fleet, secured their win today. The men’s Japanese 470 team, Naoki Ichino and Hasegawa Takashi, also managed to gain first place in their fleet on day one with the British team following in second.

The Race Committee will look to catch up on races missed on Wednesday, in a bid to get back on schedule. Competition is due to commence at 11:00 local time.

How to follow:

ENTRIES / RESULTS / SCHEDULE
27 Olympic medallists as well as World and Continental Champions have registered to compete in Miami. Click here to view the entry list in full.
Results will be available from Tuesday 23 January here - http://sailing.org/worldcup/results/index.php

All fleets will commence racing on Tuesday 23 January. To view the full schedule click here.

WATCH
Daily highlights and live streamed Medal Races on Saturday and Sunday will be available across the World Sailing Network. Click here to subscribe.

Set yourself a reminder for the Medal Races below:
Saturday Live
Sunday Live

SAP SAILING ANALYTICS
SAP Sailing Analytics will be available from Tuesday 23 January. Live tracking, sailor analytics, live weather data and racing status will be available on the platform here - https://wcs2018-miami.sapsailing.com/

SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow the event on World Sailing's social networks and get involved in the conversation using #WCSMiami

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/worldsailingofficial/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/worldsailingofficial/
Twitter - @worldsailing

PRESS RELEASES
All World Sailing international press releases throughout the duration of the World Cup Series, including the latest news and reports, are available to read here - http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/news/index.php

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WORLD CUP SERIES
The World Cup Series is a world-class, annual series of Olympic sailing for elite and professional sailors. Over 2,000 of the World's leading sailors, representing over 75 nations have competed in the World Cup Series which offers a definitive guide to the best-of-the-best in the Olympic sailing world.

Source: World Sailing