The 2010 Rolex Miami OCR witnessed the Skandia Team GBR making Britain proud by bagging away as many as six medals in the ISAF Sailing World Cup event which concluded on Saturday. It was a very befitting reply to the efforts that each sailor from the crew had been contributing with and the expectations that the fans have had from them.

While Nick Thompson and John Robertson’s sonar crew grabbed hold of gold and a silver medal, Ed Wright and Giles Scott took the score to an impressive 1-2 for Britain in the heavyweight Finn class. Ed Wright who was the defending Champion and the winner of the 2009 World Cup series had a straightforward achievement with his teammate Scott lending a helping hand to fend off his American competitors. Ed Wright was pleased that he managed through the tricky conditions, while Giles Scott confessed not making it to gold. However, after delivering a good performance and dominating the newest Olympic Sailing discipline for a week, Annie Lush, Lucy Macgregor and Ally Martin could not hit the top prize and had to settle with a silver medal.

Skandia Team GBR’s army of Finn sailors has been proving its mettle in the race and appears very tough to beat. Coach Matt Howard looked mighty pleased with the team’s progress and appreciated Scott’s performance in the double-points medal race. Nick Thompson’s hard work in the Laser class paid off as he had gained enough points to hit gold. But for the not so lucky, Annie Lush, Lucy Macgregor and Ally Martin, in the nail biting final race, the Elliot 6m women’s match resulted in losing the gold to USA. With not even one match dropped in the entire regatta, the Skandia Team GBR was in high spirits and confidently headed towards the final showdown. Winning two matches, they were just stone’s throw away from winning another gold. But the third race brought with it the turning point, when the umpire’s decision at the windward mark went against them, making way for Tunnicliffe’s victory resulting in a tie.

Speaking about their loss, Lucy Macgregor was seen disappointed and explained how she had began with a strong start, soon gained four boat lengths on her opponent, but was slapped with an unexpected loss of speed due to rope debris that had tangled around their boat. Following which, the Skandia Team GBR lost the decider by merely half a boat length and had to settle for the silver. The sixth and the final medal came in the form of a bronze which was bagged by the Laser Radial Sailor Alison Young, whose instant claim raised the bar for her performance. This first-timer in the major senior international event 2010 Rolex Miami OCR felt elated at her achievement and hoped to earn a place in the top 10.

The RYA Olympic Manager, Stephen Park admired the achievements of British sailors who had put in a lot of hard work but felt disappointed at the loss of Lucy Macgregor’s team. He went on to praise Nick Thompson and Ed Wright who had dominated the Finn racing and looked impressed with Alison Young’s performance.

Tags: Alison Young, John Robertson, Lucy Macgregor, Nick Thompson, rolex, Rolex 2010 Miami OCR

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 5:08 am and is filed under Rolex Culture, Rolex Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.