51st. Trofeo S.A.R. Princess Sofia regatta

B

bait

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No idea why more sailors do not jump to the mixed 470. A fairly conventional dinghy that does take a lot to master, but is able to be sailed over a very wide wind range. There are boats available in the US and a probably a less expensive route than a 49er or FX. There seems to still be an active i420 class in the US as a feeder class, but most head for the college route and forgo performance sailing. There were a few teams that came out to try it in the Miami Olympic class event. Biggest problem is the class is not supported by US Sailing. They voted to kill it in favor of the mixed offshore class. I think US Sailing has no interest in promoting the Mixed 470. They have put all their efforts into the newer classes.

also with the Mixed470 being a new class for this next summer Olympics it is guaranteed for two quads just like the kites. So this class should be competing in the 2028 games in LA as well. You would have thought this would have attracted more US sailors to the class. It has shown to be highly popular and supported in Europe. My guess is US Sailing will try and kill it again for 2028 in favor of something more regional that US sailors can rally behind. Not sure that will fly with all the support for the Mixed470 class amongst the European decisions makers. Time will tell.

while adult small boat(dinghy) sailing is virtually dead in the US, it is still pretty awesome to these huge European events take place. There are a bunch this summer. Hyeres Olympic sailing week is only a couple weeks after this event and will also have a huge turnout judging from current registrants. Kiel week and the old Spa Regatta are also great events. 

 
T

Tcatman

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18 hours ago, tillerman said:

I used to. I had two friends/ business colleagues who were selected for the Olympics, one of whom did win a medal. This was in the days when Olympic sailors had real jobs too. But I am not much of a sports spectator/ fanboy for any sport. Except baseball of course. Go Yankees!
 

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Welp   your experience helps me make a point.... You follow/cheer for people you know...OR you are a member of a  large misguided community of NY Yankee fans and cheer for those guys.   Any bar in the country will find you in one of two camps vis the yankees.

How many of these US Sailors have you heard about?   Do you know of any YC communities where these sailors are widely known and supported by rank and file members/fans?     (Looks like St Francis YC is THE Club for Olympic sailors in all of the states)

US Sailing Team

  • Ian Barrows / Hans Henken, 49er
  • Andrew Mollerus / Ian MacDiarmid, 49er
  • Daniela Moroz, Formula Kite
  • Louisa Nordstrom / Trevor Bornarth, 470
  • Pedro Pascual, iQFOiL
  • Steph Roble / Maggie Shea, 49erFX

Olympic Development Program

  • Kai Calder, Formula Kite
  • Noah Runciman, Formula Kite
  • Christina Sakellaris, ILCA 6
  • Chris Williford / Duncan Williford, 49er

Other American sailors participating

  • Kelly Cole / Ellie Glenn, 49erFX
  • Carson Crain / Caroline Atwood, Nacra 17
  • Lilly Myers, ILCA 6
  • Lucy Wilmot / Erika Reineke, 49erFX



You won't share a starting line with any of these fleets so you won't have an opportunity to meet them personally.  You will have to work pretty hard to follow the ups and downs of any of these team members through the non existent sailing media for this kind of racing.   So... you won't be able to follow the sport like you could baseball.    

The lack of support for olympic sailing in this environment is predictable.    I think Cayard has to build a community of supporters/fans  by doing the marketing and sports coverage that gets people involved as fans.    Otherwise,  the "who cares" dis  determines the fate of small boat racing in the country.  I think the excellence that is required to compete at this level deserves a lot more then friends and family supporters.

 
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tillerman

tillerman

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Tcatman said:
Welp   your experience helps me make a point.... You follow/cheer for people you know...OR you are a member of a  large misguided community of NY Yankee fans and cheer for those guys.   Any bar in the country will find you in one of two camps vis the yankees.

How many of these US Sailors have you heard about?   Do you know of any YC communities where these sailors are widely known and supported by rank and file members/fans?     (Looks like St Francis YC is THE Club for Olympic sailors in all of the states)

US Sailing Team

  • Ian Barrows / Hans Henken, 49er
  • Andrew Mollerus / Ian MacDiarmid, 49er
  • Daniela Moroz, Formula Kite
  • Louisa Nordstrom / Trevor Bornarth, 470
  • Pedro Pascual, iQFOiL
  • Steph Roble / Maggie Shea, 49erFX

Olympic Development Program

  • Kai Calder, Formula Kite
  • Noah Runciman, Formula Kite
  • Christina Sakellaris, ILCA 6
  • Chris Williford / Duncan Williford, 49er

Other American sailors participating

  • Kelly Cole / Ellie Glenn, 49erFX
  • Carson Crain / Caroline Atwood, Nacra 17
  • Lilly Myers, ILCA 6
  • Lucy Wilmot / Erika Reineke, 49erFX



You won't share a starting line with any of these fleets so you won't have an opportunity to meet them personally.  You will have to work pretty hard to follow the ups and downs of any of these team members through the non existent sailing media for this kind of racing.   So... you won't be able to follow the sport like you could baseball.    

The lack of support for olympic sailing in this environment is predictable.    I think Cayard has to build a community of supporters/fans  by doing the marketing and sports coverage that gets people involved as fans.    Otherwise,  the "who cares" dis  determines the fate of small boat racing in the country.  I think the excellence that is required to compete at this level deserves a lot more then friends and family supporters.
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Good point. I think Ian Barrows is the brother of Thomas Barrows who represented USVI twice in the Olympics. I knew Thomas vaguely because he was sailing some of the same Laser regattas as I was back in the day. I even wrote a blog post that was illustrated by this photo of Thomas.

https://propercourse.blogspot.com/2007/02/stay-out-of-trouble.html

Thomas+Barrows+ouch.jpg


And I have heard of Erica Reineke. But that's it.

In the days when they used to have Olympic Trials in the US to select the American Laser sailor to go to the Olympics I knew some of the guys who went to the trials - some with a chance to win and some not. And I blogged about sailors like Clay Johnson and Andrew Campbell and Brad Funk, not to mention Robert Scheidt and Ben Ainslie and Anna Tunnicliffe. (I had raced against Clay down the Jersey shore when he was a teenager.)
https://propercourse.blogspot.com/2012/02/clay-johnson-and-andrew-campbell.html

Screen+Shot+2012-02-27+at+7.06.48+PM.png



So yeah, things have changed. I don't know and don't really care about any of the current US Olympic team.

 
tillerman

tillerman

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Admiral Hornblower said:
Not a bad regatta for North America. 

The two US 49er teams finished in 2d and 5th

Sarah Douglas won in the ILCA 6.

Moroz won in the Women's Kites.

Roble and Shea finished 9th.

https://www.trofeoprincesasofia.org/en/default/races/race-resultsall
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LOL. Go Canada! Have Americans given up on being a serious challenge in either of the ILKER class events? Who was the last Laser or Radial medalist from the US? Anna Tunnicliffe? 

Daniela Moroz was windsurfing in the womb. You have to start them young.

 
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tillerman

tillerman

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Admiral Hornblower said:
That's impressive that he could be beat both the Tokyo silver and gold medalists as well as the 2018, 2019 and 2021 world champions!
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In discussions about why UK sailors do so much better than US sailors at the Olympics, one issue often raised is the whole question of college/university and how US college sailing is a poor preparation for Olympic classes. It is sometimes claimed that many of the top UK sailors don't even go to college. To that point, here is an interview with Michael Beckett of how he combined attending university and being a member of the British Sailing team at the same time. 
https://www.southampton.ac.uk/engineering/undergraduate/our_students/michael-beckett.page

 
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