A brisk morning breeze greeted 34 sailors from 19 countries in the RS:X Men’s Fleet as they embarked on their second day of competition in US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR. The conditions, combined with yesterday’s near perfection, has brought early momentum to the event, which is sailed on Biscayne Bay and based at the US Sailing Center, an official Olympic training center in the Coconut Grove section of Miami. The regatta is part of the International Sailing Federation’s (ISAF) World Cup circuit and has long been one of the “must-do” events for elite sailors, since it replicates the classes and format of the Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Regattas.
Board handling was certainly critical today for The Netherlands’ Dorian van Rijsselberge in the RS:X Men’s class. He finished 1-4 to post 8 points and maintain his lead from yesterday, while Spain’s Ivan Pastor nips at his heels with 9 points.
“I have to keep my eye out for everyone,” said van Rijsselberge, noting that he is pleased with the large turnout here. “It’s a big course, and they can come from anywhere.” The impressive 34-board fleet is all the more notable in that 19 countries are represented, including Portugal (Joao Rodrigues in third) and France (Olympic medalist Julien Bontemps in sixth), which Rijsselberge sees as additional threats to his throne.
RS:X Men’s Results: http://rmocr.ussailing.org/Assets/Olympics/2009+Rolex+Miami+OCR/Results/RSX+Men/2009+RMOCR+RSX+Men+Race+4.html
RS:X Women’s Results: http://rmocr.ussailing.org/Assets/Olympics/2009+Rolex+Miami+OCR/Results/RSX+Women/2009+RMOCR+RSX+Women+Race+4.html
