The penultimate day of racing at the Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta (22-27 January) saw seventeen British boats across ten classes qualify for Saturday’s final medal races.

Eight Skandia Team GBR crews are in medal-winning positions heading into the final day of this Grade 1 regatta, with Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield and Bryony Shaw consolidating their leads in the 470 men’s and women’s RS:X categories, and Leigh McMillan and Will Howden moving to the top of the Tornado leaderboard ahead of Australian World Champions Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby after Friday’s racing.

Athens silver medalists Rogers and Glanfield take a 19 point lead into the final medal race on Saturday, recording 7,20,7 from their three races of the day, and will be joined in the medal race, featuring the top ten boats in a double-points scoring final showdown, by teammates and World Champions Nic Asher and Elliot Willis, currently in eighth place.

Bryony Shaw picked up her first race win of the regatta to see her extend her lead to four points in the women’s RS:X class, while Tornado sailors McMillan and Howden posted two solid seconds in Biscayne Bay’s 12 knot conditions to put them into first place and assured of at least a silver providing they sail a clean race tomorrow.

 "It feels great to be in this position,” said Howden.  “We have really struggled over the last few regattas for no apparent reason, and it’s easy to get your head down.  We came here with no real expectations, just wanting to feel like our program was moving forward again.

“We haven’t changed a thing since the Worlds,” he continued.  “I think this just shows how tight and hard this fleet is to compete in consistently at the top which is our short-term goal.  Bundy [Darren Bundock] is really good in the medal races so we will have to be on top of our game tomorrow.”

Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson will also have to be on the top of their game if they’re to come out on top in the Yngling event.  ‘Team Mirabaud’ sailed a solid 4,2,1 from today’s three races, but their closest rivals, the American team skippered by Sally Barkow, had an even better 2,1,2 to see them take the lead by two points over the British boat so the Yngling medal race will see an nail-biting showdown between the two crews.

The 49er leaderboard remains delicately balanced, with Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes still within reach of some silverware.  Currently in fifth place, they’re just five points off the second placed boat of USA’s Tim Wadlow and Christopher Rast, while in the men’s RS:X class, third placed Nick Dempsey is on equal points with the Joao Rodrigues heading into tomorrow’s medal race.

In the single-handed events, Paul Goodison is currently fifth in the Laser class, Ed Wright and Ed Greig have made in through to the Finn medal race in seventh and ninth places respectively, and Charlotte Dobson and Lizzie Vickers will fly the Skandia Team GBR flag in the Laser Radial class.  Christina Bassadone and Saskia Clark head into the women’s 470 medal race in sixth place, while the Star class will be the only one without British interest as the new crew of Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson were unable to make the cut.

While there’s still everything to play for in the Olympic disciplines, there was a dramatic conclusion to the regatta for Sonar sailors John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Stephen Thomas.  With no medal races scheduled for the three Paralympic classes, Friday’s final fleet races determined the overall regatta winners.  Robertson, Stodel and Thomas were overnight leaders in the Sonar class, but were left under pressure from their teammates and training partners Dan Parsons, Tom Pygall and Guy Draper heading into the final race.

In an attempt to aggressively match race Parsons’ team out of contention in the last race, the two-time IFDS World Champions Robertson, Stodel and Thomas inadvertently broke Rule 22, which prohibits a boat from altering its course to interfere with another boat sailing a different leg.  On learning of their mistake, Robertson’s team confessed to the jury and were subsequently disqualified from the two races of the final day.  They finished the regatta with bronze, after starting the day in the gold medal position.

“The guys have never been in the situation before where they’ve had to win a race through any other means than just sailing as fast as they can,” said Skandia Team GBR Sonar coach Mark Rushall.  “It was a training regatta for them here, so learning was the most important thing for the team – they’ve certainly learnt a lot!”

Megan Pascoe and Helena Lucas secured silver and bronze medals respectively in the 2.4mR Paralympic class, behind able-bodied sailor and five time 2.4mR Open World Champion Stellan Berlin of Sweden.  For 20-year-old Pascoe, it was her best result to date, and “a brilliant way to start the year”.

Allan Smith and Jackie Gay finished in fifth place in only their second event in the new SKUD-18 class.

Skandia Team GBR medal race contenders:

470 men – Nick Rogers-Joe Glanfield; Nic Asher-Elliot Willis
470 women – Christina Bassadone-Saskia Clark
49er – Stevie Morrison-Ben Rhodes; Paul Campbell James-Mark Asquith
Finn – Ed Wright; Ed Greig
Laser – Paul Goodison
Laser Radial – Charlotte Dobson; Lizzie Vickers
RS:X women – Bryony Shaw; Lucy Horwood
RS:X men – Nick Dempsey
Tornado – Leigh McMillan-Will Howden; Rob Wilson-Mark Bulkeley
Yngling – Sarah Ayton-Sarah Webb-Pippa Wilson; Victoria Rawlinson-Emma Rawlinson-Sue Monson
For the full results and information, visit www.skandiateamgbr.com
Lindsey Bell www.rya.org.uk

Last Updated ( Saturday, 27 January 2007 )