Don’t say Caleb Paine in the Finn and Stuart Mcnay/David Hughes in the men’s 470 didn’t give it all they had on Sunday in pursuit of a medal. The only Americans competing on the final day of the Sailing World Cup stop in Hyeres won their races in the final to move up in the standings, though neither were able to reach a medal spot.

In the Finn class Paine’s win actually drew him very close to a medal which you might not know if you just saw he finished eighth overall. Paine ended up with 56 points while 52 points was the score for the third place finisher. Looking back the 30th and 24th place finishes in races five and six really did him in. If one of those had been even just tenth instead he would have been tied for first place.

For McNay/Hughes their bid for back-to-back medals was a bit dicier as even with a win in the final they finished fifth and nine points behind third place. They had five top eight finishes in their eight races leading up to the final but with the other three all being between 15th and 19th they just had too much ground to make up.

The next Sailing World Cup stop is in Weymouth & Portland, Great Britain from June 6th through the 12th.

Previous ISAF Sailing World Cup Coverage:
Preview
Day 1 Update
Day 2 Update
Day 3 Update
Day 4 Update

Going into the final day the US sonar team of Alphonsus Doerr/Bradley Kendell/Hugh Freund looked a good bet to medal and even had a chance to win gold. Unfortunately it wasn’t their strongest day and seventh and eighth place finishes gave them a big hit in the standings. The 15 points from those two finishes were more than their last five races combined and they ended up third, a point behind second place. Thankfully their strong finishes earlier in the week were enough to keep them in third with a four point margin and they took home a third place finish.

In the 2.4m races Dee Smith continued to be the best among the four Americans competing and ended the competition on a high note by winning the final race after being fifth in the first race of the day. Smith finished sixth overall, same as in Miami. Daniel Evans was the second best American finishing 13th in his first competition of the year.

In the men’s RS:X Pedro Pascual finished 28th, 35th, and 34th and settled for 38th for the event. He surpassed his 24th place overall finish from Miami only once in the ten races in Hyeres.

Caleb Paine rebounded in the Finn class with an 11th place finish good enough to secure him a place in Sunday’s final. In the men’s 470 Stuart Mcnay/David Hughes were 19th in the opener, really damaging any medal hopes, but rebounded with two second place finishes to ensure they were in the final. They may not be able to win as they did in Miami but hopefully they can finish strong in the final.

In the Nacra 17 races the team of Bora Gulari/Louisa Chafee would have needed an extremely strong day to contend for a spot in the final race and did have two good results finishing seventh and sixth after a 21st place finish to start the day. They wound up 15th overall. It wasn’t a good start to the day for the women’s 470 team of Anne Haeger/Briana Provancha who took a penalty and finished 26th in race one. That result ended up taking them out of final race contention despite finishing 10th and 14th in their final two races. They finished 13th overall.

Christopher Barnard finished 36th and 30th in his two Laser races on Saturday, his seventh place finish in race four the only time he got into the top 23 in Hyeres. Overall his 36th place finish was a move up from 51st in Miami. Things did not end well for Thomas Barrows II/Joseph Morris (US Virgin Islands) in the 49er as their two worst results of the event (outside of a DNF in race three) came on Saturday when they were 36th and 35th.

Finally in the women’s RS:X Marion Lepert finished 24th-25th-16th and had to settle for 19th place overall, the same place she finished in Miami.

The final races on Sunday will see the US athletes compete in the final of the Finn and men’s 470 events.

Previous ISAF Sailing World Cup Coverage:
Preview
Day 1 Update
Day 2 Update
Day 3 Update

The US sonar team of Alphonsus Doerr/Bradley Kendell/Hugh Freund followed up two second place finishes on Thursday with two fourths and their first win of the regatta in Hyeres. They have now finished in the top four in five straight races after a ninth place opener and are poised for a top three finish with two races left.

Caleb Paine’s run of success in the Finn class races came to and end as 30th and 24th place finishes ended a run of four top seven finishes. In the 2.4m category Dee Smith had a solid 4th-9th-8th day to remain the top American while in the Nacra 17 race the team of Bora Gulari/Louisa Chafee were not great in their first three races of the day with three finishes outside of the top 12 (22nd-13th-16th) before really improving for their best finish so far in fifth in race nine.

In the men’s 470 Stuart Mcnay/David Hughes ended a run of three straight eighth place finishes when they were 15th and over on the women’s side the team of Anne Haeger/Briana Provancha were 16th. Christopher Barnard was 24th and 31st in his two Laser races on Friday following a nice seventh place finish on Thursday.

Over in the 49er Thomas Barrows II/Joseph Morris (US Virgin Islands) had one of their best days with 13th and 21st place finishes while in the men’s RS:X Pedro Pascual was on the course side to start so he finished 41st. Finally in the women’s RS:X Marion Lepert was unable to follow up a fourth place finish to wrap up Thursday with much success as she was 28th.

The 2.4m, Sonar, and RS:X men’s categories all wrap up on Saturday. There will be two races in the 2.4m and the sonar categories while RS:X will go three times. 

All the other categories will have their final races before the field is cut for Sunday’s final race. In the 49er, men’s and women’s 470, Nacra 17, and RS:X women’s categories that means three races while the Finn category has one race and Laser has two.

Previous ISAF Sailing World Cup Coverage:
Preview
Day 1 Update
Day 2 Update

The US sonar team of Alphonsus Doerr/Bradley Kendell/Hugh Freund had a fantastic Thursday as they finished second in both of their races and jumped up to second overall. Their ninth place finish from Wednesday had been holding them back but with some strong finishes from here in the final five races they could be real contenders to medal. Caleb Paine also continued to have success in the Finn class races in Hyeres on Thursday where he finished seventh and fifth and stayed in the top five overall in fourth place. With five races remaining and no awful results so far Paine has some potential margin for error and is right in the thick of the battle for second and third.

In the 2.4m category Dee Smith remained the top American after two races on Thursday where he finished seventh and ninth and is now in seventh place overall. Daniel Evans had a 17th and 11th place finish but stayed in the top ten at ninth. In the Nacra 17 race the team of Bora Gulari/Louisa Chafee had four races to complete and went 12th-19th-20th-16th and moved up to 18th.

In the men’s 470 Stuart Mcnay/David Hughes finished eighth in both of their races making in three straight eighth place finishes and placing them, you guessed it, eight overall. The women’s team of Anne Haeger/Briana Provancha bounced back from a DNF in their second race on Wednesday with a 14th place finish and a second place finish on Thursday. They are now 11th overall with five races left. Christopher Barnard had struggled to two 38th place finishes on Wednesday and Thursday didn’t start off any better with a DSQ in his first race before he finally broke through with a seventh place finish in the final race of the day.

Over in the 49er there were three more races where Thomas Barrows II/Joseph Morris (US Virgin Islands) went 24th-33rd-26th but fell from 30th to 34th while in the men’s RS:X Pedro Pascual is up one spot to 38th after finishing 21st-35th-35th. Finally in the women’s RS:X Marion Lepert fell from fifth place to 12th after starting the second day roughly with 28th and 27th place finishes before a fourth place finish to wrap things up.

The 2.4m, Sonar, 49er, and RS:X men’s and women’s categories will have three races on Thursday while the men’s and women’s 470, Finn, and Laser categories have two races. Finally the Nacra 17 has four races again on Thursday.

Previous ISAF Sailing World Cup Coverage:
Preview
Day 1 Update

On the first day of the Sailing World Cup regatta in Hyeres several Americans had a strong day but the strongest belonged to Caleb Paine in the Finn class. Paine started the day with a fifth place finish in the first race but then improved on that in the second race of the day where he finished second. After the first two of nine races Paine is in second and just two points behind the leader.

In the 2.4m category Dee Smith was the top American in the single race on Wednesday finishing in fourth while Daniel Evans made in two in the top ten with a sixth place finish. In the Nacra 17 race the team of Bora Gulari/Louisa Chafee did not finish the race while in the sonar race Alphonsus Doerr/Bradley Kendell/Hugh Freund were ninth.

In the men’s 470 Stuart Mcnay/David Hughes didn’t start off well with an 18th place finish in the first race of the day but an 8th place finish in the second bounced them up to 11th in the overall standings so far. The women’s side went the other way as Anne Haeger/Briana Provancha opened up with a 13th place finish before a DNF in the second race dropped them to 24th overall. Christopher Barnard didn’t have much success in the Laser race where he placed 38th in both races.

Over in the 49er there were three races on Wednesday and Thomas Barrows II/Joseph Morris (US Virgin Islands) were 16th, 31st, and did not finish the final race. They sit in 30th. Finally in the men’s RS:X Pedro Pascual is 39th after finishing 38th, 34th, and 35th while in the women’s RS:X Marion Lepert had a really good day and after going seventh, 26th, and fourth she is in fifth place..

The 2.4m, Sonar, men’s and women’s 470, Finn, and Laser categories have two races on Thursday. Nacra 17 has a whopping four races on Thursday while there are three races in the 49er, and RS:X men’s and women’s categories.

Previous ISAF Sailing World Cup Coverage:
Preview

The third Sailing World Cup regatta is in Hyeres, France starting on Wednesday and running until May 1st. The US has twenty athletes competing with several being contenders for medals. In the 2.4m category there are four Americans including Charles Rosenfield who was third in Miami, along with Dee Smith (sixth in Miami), and Kevin Holmberg (seventh in Miami). In the men’s 470 Stuart Mcnay/David Hughes won the event in Miami while Anne Haeger/Briana Provancha are competing in the women’s 470 but have not competed so far this year.

Over in the 49er Judge Ryan/Hans Henken were 21st in Miami while Caleb Paine was sixth in the Finn category. Christopher Barnard was 51st in Miami but is the only American returning to compete in the Laser race. Bora Gulari/Louisa Chafee were 12th in Miami in Nacra 17 while the trio of Alphonsus Doerr/Bradley Kendell/Hugh Freund were one of the top US finishers when they placed fifth in the Sonar. Finally in the men’s RS:X Pedro Pascual was 24th while in the women’s RS:X Marion Lepert was 19th.

The 2.4m, Nacra 17, and Sonar categories have one race on Wednesday. There are two races in the men’s and women’s 470, and the Finn and Laser events. There are three races in the 49er, and RS:X men’s and women’s categories.