ISAF Nations Cup

Mads Ebler (DEN) continued his domination of the open division in the ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final as Olivia Price (AUS) won all of her Thursday matches to top the women’s division at the end of the Round Robin sailed on Lake Michigan. In the nine-team open division, Laurie Jury (NZL) and Lucy Macgregor (GBR), tied with six wins each, have secured their places in the Semi Finals alongside Ebler. Shawn Bennett (USA), Henrique Hadded (BRA) and Przemek Tarnacki (POL) each finished the round robin with four points. Peter Wickwire (CAN) finished with three points. The four teams will sail in the repechage tomorrow to determine the fourth Semi Finalist. In the ten-team women’s division, 2009 ISAF Nations Cup winner Claire Leroy (FRA) and Mandy Mulder (NED) each finished the round robin with seven wins. Price, who also moves to the Semi Finals, lost only to Mulder during the Round Robin.

Leroy said her team had a challenging day on the water. “It was a hard day for us today,” she said. “Our speed was off and we had a penalty in the prestart in our first race with Olivia Price. In our second race against Mulder we had a good start but she sailed in a good shift in our tacking duel and gained the advantage for the rest of the race. We won our last races against Genny Tulloch and Juliana Senfft. We have qualified for the semis on Saturday and look forward to a day off tomorrow to rest, shop and explore Sheboygan.”

Juliana Senfft (BRA) finished the round with six points and Genny Tulloch (USA) and Ru Wang (CHN) each had five points. Rita Gonçalves (POR) finished with three points. The four teams will sail in the repechage, with the winner going on to the Semi Finals.

Following the repechage, sail-offs for fifth through eighth places will be held in each division.

A brisk northerly wind made for good, if chilly, sailing Thursday and Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio was happy with how the regatta has gone so far, “We’ve been really lucky with the weather so far,” Reggio said. “We pushed a little harder than some people might have liked yesterday but you have to sail when you have the breeze.”

Reggio commended the volunteer corps assisting the race committee. “I love coming to Sheboygan because these guys do a great job and they just love it. They are almost rabid with their enthusiasm.”

For Wickwire, sailing for the first time in Sheboygan has been a pleasure, “The racing has been a bit difficult for us as this is our first Grade 1 event but we are feeling very fortunate to be in the repechage sailing for a chance in the Semi Finals,” he said. “We have nothing but great things to say about the facility at Sail Sheboygan and we’ve just been treated with outstanding hospitality from everyone, including the locals who’ve come down for some of the events.”

Light wind is forecast early in the day Friday, so the race committee has said there will not be a start before 10:00 local time Light southwest winds are expected to increase toward afternoon.