The end of a wonderful regatta week

So US Sailings 2010 Rolex Miami OCR winds down a fantastic week in Coconut Grove. We'll miss seeing all the new young fresh faces around town.

Paige Railey of Clearwater, Florida, wrapped up the gold medal a day early in the 57-boat fleet, thanks to a substantial 35 point lead in the Laser Radial. Above left, Paige is presented US Sailings's Golden Torch Award, given by its last winner Anna Tunnicliffe, for best overall USA performance. At right, you can see Paige in action.

Following in second was Spain's Alicia Cebrian who sailed a consistently strong event, and the bronze medal went to Great Britain's Alison Young. Railey's strengths this week were her boat speed and being able to see the pressures and realizing the phase of the shift a few seconds ahead of her competition. By the end of the regatta, she had found her groove and won several races comfortably.

Coach Luther Carpenter (LaPorte, Texas) said she managed risk very well in very difficult conditions."I'm so pleased about winning the gold," said Railey. "I wasn't thinking about the results. I was out there taking one race at a time and pushing myself to use new techniques I've incorporated into my sailing. I've been learning when to take risks and when to stay conservative."


Norway's Eivind Meklleby and Petter Morland, shown here, celebrating with family and friends, won a gold medal in the Star class in a come-from-behind victory over USA's Andy Horton (S. Burlington, Vermont) and James Lyne (Granville, Vt.), who led the 24-boat fleet throughout the regatta.


Andrew Mills and Giles Scott of Great Britain.


Sven Coster and Kalle Coster of the Netherlands.

Photos by Dan Nerney