Tom Franklin |
Miami by 2.4
The
2.4mR Midwinters
The Miami Olympic Classes Regatta
by Thomas
Franklin
Tom
sent me (not the ED) this report along with photos. I remember meeting
him at a previous regatta but never got to chat. This last August
at the NACC/IC in Chicago. We had a few drinks and good chat. Tom
Lives in the Miami area and gets to sail his 2.4mR quite a bit.
I forgot what Tom's disibility is but when you sail these 2.4mR's
you're sitting anyway so its all arms and brains. Tom competed in
both regattas and guaging from the level of competition did rather
well. Thanks Tom
16th
Annual Midwinter Championships
 The
16th Annual Midwinter Championships drew a fleet of 16
boats from as far away as Sweden and Finland. Strong fleets from
Canada and Great Britain were well represented. The weather was
beautiful with warm sun and mild temperatures. The westerly wind
for the first two days of racing provided tricky conditions with
winds 6-15 knots where five races were sailed each day. Because
of the close proximity of land, there were nearly 40 degree wind
shifts near the weather mark. The last day of racing provided slightly
more stable conditions.
 The
racing was tight with significant gains and losses being made both
upwind and downwind. Sailing in pressure was the order for the
first two days. Stellan Berlin, SWE 379, demonstrated a new mainsail
with larger battens that proved to work well in the tricky conditions.
Marko Dahlberg, FIN 1, and Helena Lucus, GBR 75 proved there mastery
of the conditions each displaying great exhibitions of speed.
16th
Annual Midwinter Championships Results
Rolex
Miami Olympic Classes Regatta
 The
Miami Olympic Classes Regatta was first established in 1990. This
an annual event organized by the Olympic Sailing Committee of US
SAILING. The event is sailed on Biscayne Bay and features elite-level
competition in the classes selected for the Olympic and Paralympic
Games. As the only International Sailing Federation (ISAF) grade-one
ranking event in the United States for Olympic Classes, the Rolex
Miami OCR has a track record for high attendance by foreign teams.
Hosts for the event are the U.S. Sailing Center; Coral Reef, Key
Biscayne and Miami Yacht Clubs; the Coconut Grove Sailing Club;
and Shake-a-Leg-Miami. For American sailors, the event is especially
important as a ranking regatta for sailors hoping to make the US
Sailing Team. The US Sailing Team annually distinguishes the top-five
ranked sailors in each Olympic Class and top three in each Paralympic
Class.
Due to 13 Classes simultaneously racing, our race course was shared
with the Sonar Fleet where the 2.4mRR’s started at 1100 each day.
In the light conditions, Stellan Berlin, SWE 379, dominated the
fleet with his speed. The first three days of the event brought
light westerly breezes around 7 knots in the morning that diminished
as the day progressed. Because of the trend with the dying breeze
each day, the start was moved to 1000 for day three and four. The
fourth day initially brought the same conditions that died completely
half way out to the race course. The result was a 90 minute postponement
that eventually brought in a stable southeasterly sea breeze at
4-8 knots. The fifth and final day of racing produced a strong
easterly wind initially 12-15 knots that diminished to around 8
knots at race time with gusts to around 14 knots. There were strong
intermittent rain squalls after race one that produced a 35 degree
wind shift resulting in a 30 minute postponement and a rearranging
of the weather mark. The final race of the series was won by Marko
Dahlberg, FIN 1.
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Rolex
Miami Olympic 2.4mR Class Regatta Results
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