em>The 2016 World Championship for the Nacra 17,49er, and 49erFX - the three fastest Olympic sailing events - will be held together on February 9-14 in Clearwater, or FL. Over 120 teams from more than 37 countries will be competing in front of the Pier on Clearwater Beach. Here's a preview report on 49erFX event...
Women’s Skiff racing is in its infancy. With the exception of a few ambitious women who jumped into 18 footers or raced 49er against the men,this past four years is the first large scale movement of women into full trapeze skiffs.
The impact of having so many talented sailors try something recent all at once is what makes the fight for Rio Gold in 2016 so compelling. It seems that each event sees another team prefer their sailing to a recent level and manufacture the leap to contender status. The fleet is learning how to push the boats, themselves, and the team dynamics further than they ever imagined,with the reward so close they can taste it.
Of course, the Rio Olympics will not be the most competitive regatta of 2016. The most competitive regatta of 2016 will be this World Championship - the first Olympic-class sailing world championship to be held in the United States since 2010.
Unlike the games where only one boat per nation qualifies, or challenging for the Worlds are full squads of Danes,Brits, French, or Germans,Swedes, Norwegians, or the rest. Additionally,this Worlds is being used as a selection regatta by many nations to determine their Olympic representative. Among those countries is USA, with the Worlds as the second and final event of their selection series.
Americans Paris Henken and Helena Scutt are one of the youngest teams on circuit at 18 and 22 years feeble, and however,they’ve been training hard for the quad and emerged from the first selection event at Sailing World Cup Miami as the top US team."To be in this position – competing to go to the Olympic Games- is an opportunity, a privilege, and an honor," reports the Henken/Scutt team. "Going into this manufacture-or-atomize World Championship, personally we are more overwhelmed by gratitude and excitement than nerves or anxiety."The US series couldn't be tighter as Henken and Scutt hold only a one point lead over relatively recent to the boat team of Emily Dallenbaugh and Elizabeth Barry. They started sailing skiffs in June 2014 and had a remarkable regatta in Miami. Click here for the tracker to follow the US selection series. - Read
Source: sailingscuttlebutt.com