TEAM STRAMMER/BROWN

49er Medal Ceremony. Photo courtesy Will Ricketson US Sailing Team Sperry Topsider.

An exciting showdown on Saturday concluded the World Cup Miami event with Zach and I taking home an ISAF Gold Medal for our first time. We are incredible proud of what we accomplished here in Miami and can’t thank our you all enough for your support over the last year helping us achieve this goal. In addition to winning the event, Zach and I are the top US 49er team and have earned a spot on the US Sailing Team Sperry Topsider. In the next few weeks, we will be garnished head to toe in everything Sperry. We are excited to work with Sperry Topsider and look forward to assisting them with product development and representing them in our events this year. Furthermore, as USSTST and the overall regatta winner has earned us additional funding through US Sailing. This money will reinvested into our 2013 goal for better boat speed.

The stadium racing on Saturday was unbelievably close. A winner was decided by the first boat to acquire two points. Points were awarded to those who won races and the regatta leader going into Saturday. This winner-takes-all format meant putting it all on the line each race and our goal was to end this event as quickly as possible.

Our race looked great coming off the line in race one with a port tack start at the pin, crossing the fleet. However, the 40 degree shifts and puffy conditions never allowed anyone to have a comfortable lead. By the first cross, we were second as our American training partners were setup up better in the left shift. For the rest of the first beat, we were tied for first eventually falling back to second at the top mark. A nice puff on the run helped to extend the lead of Ryan and Trevor and we could never reel them back in.

Tight racing all around. Photo courtesy Ellen Pesch.

The start to race two was similar to race one and we were able to cross on port at the pin. This time, we battled with Brad and Eric for most of the beat but managed to overtake them at the top. We held the lead and extended for most of the triple windward-leeward course until we were passed on the final beat by Ryan and Trevor. As the boat behind, we gybed-set to increase our leverage and hooked up into a nice puff that pulled us ahead to win the race and the regatta.

Zach and I were thrilled to see many of our friends and family on the water all week! Your support goes a long way and we appreciated seeing you all cheering on the water. A special thanks goes to the Strammer family for their on the water support for the whole regatta.

Victory!
Photo courtesy Will Ricketson US Sailing Team Sperry Topsider.

A few days off from sailing after this long week are in order, but Zach and I will be busy with our work outs and organizing the last few details of our training in Europe later this spring. A long regatta like this puts a lot of wear and tear on the boat, so we will need to go through our equipment again and fixing any out-standing damage from when our mast fell earlier this week.

Zach and I would like to thank the US Sailing Team Sperry Topsider, Hedgeye, and our friends and family for their support on our road to Rio.