26 Jan ISAF World Cup – Oakcliff Making it Happen
Program Director Jay Kehoe reporting:
Team Funky-Bird Practicing in an Oakcliff Boat
Good Evening from Miami!
Will not tell you how nice the weather is for you northern folks, but it is really nice!
I am at the Rolex Miami Olympic Classes regatta the first ISAF World Cup event for 2014 and the only one in North America. I am down spreading the word about Oakcliff and our programs, I am also on the Pin boat for the 49er and FX course. It is going to be exciting with 35 49ers and 35 Fx’s on the line, the racing will be epic. A big reason the fleets are so big (the largest at a World Cup event) is because of infusion of Oakcliff boats that are here for members of the US team. The impact that Oakcliff is making is pretty impressive.
Last night I was fortunate enough to be invited to the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider awards ceremony, it was truly amazing having so many sailors come up to me and thank me for what we are doing at Oakcliff. During the awards Hunt and Betsy Lawrence were presented with the Charles M. Leighton Award for outstanding dedication to the U.S. Olympic sailing effort, during the presentation team members were asked to say a few words about Oakcliff. It was amazing and very inspiring! The US team is doing great things and Oakcliff is a HUGE part of that and the athletes are very grateful. Thanks Hunt and Betsy your efforts are going to see results!
Today was a very busy day getting the course boats ready, with 6 race circles and 3-4 mark boats per course it is pretty hectic getting all the marks, flags, whiteboards and support boats ready for the upcoming week of racing. The US Sailing Staff with volunteer help does a great job organizing your kit beforehand but there are always a few bits missing and you have to go on the hunt. Being the first time on RC down here I was tasked with finding all the missing parts so I had a long day walking and looking. All seems put together right now and looks like we are ready for racing starting Monday.
Tonight is the opening ceremony, with all the countries being recognized and a good way to kick off the racing for the week. Weather forecast looks light for the first few days then big breeze by mid week!
Stay tuned for some pictures of racing tomorrow and another report of how the day turned out
.