After weathering a severe squall on opening day, the Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta benefited from a fresh, though shifty, westerly breeze yesterday, allowing the 11 Olympic and Paralympic classes to sail multiple races and solidify positions at the event’s halfway mark. The event, which continues today and concludes Friday, has attracted 503 sailors from 39 nations.

Some of the athletes competing here have already been chosen for their nation’s Olympic teams and have travelled to Miami for the traditionally intense competition the event offers. US athletes in six of the classes – Europe, Finn, 49er, Star, Tornado and Yngling – are using the regatta as a tune-up for Olympic Trials that will take place in South Florida over the next two months, determining who goes to Athens.

USA’s team of Tim Wadlow and Pete Spaulding embraced the good fortune of five races in the 49er class. After posting a ninth place after the previous day’s single race, they rose through the ranks to first overall on the merit of a first, three seconds and a third. Spaulding said: “We were the most consistent team out there today, but we’re seeing that different people are having good races at different times. The other US teams are in the hunt in every race, so, yes, it’s a very good tune-up for the Trials.”

Also making it to the top of the scoreboard yesterday were USA’s Mark Reynolds/Steve Erickson in Star class, while USA’s Laser sailor Mark Mendelblatt rose to second behind Norway’s Per Moberg. Mendelblatt, who has already secured his position on the US Olympic Sailing Team said: “Moberg seems to be the man to beat this week. The competition gets better and better every year. There are 5-6 guys here who have a chance to medal in the Olympics.”

In Ynglings, six US teams are competing, and the current Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Hannah Swett sits in third behind the previous day’s leader Sally Barkow, who allowed New Zealand’s Sharon Ferris to sneak by her in overall standings to lead.

Swett commented: “Everyone was up and down, because it was really shifty. It sure kept it interesting. It gave us a chance to check out the other American teams’ speed. It’s replicating the Trials plus adding five or six foreign boats.”

Another Olympic hopeful, USA’s Kevin Hall, who qualified the US for its Finn Olympic berth at the Finn worlds last year (finishing 27th), posted a 1-3-5-4 yesterday to take a position in third place behind Denmark’s defending champion and fleet leader Jonas Hoegh Christensen and 1996 Finn Gold medalist Mateaus Kusznierewicz, currently in second place overall. Hoegh Christensen and Kusznierewicz finished fourth and sixth, respectively, at last year’s worlds.

Hall, who only announced his campaign last May after finishing his job with the OneWorld America’s Cup campaign said: “Since the Finn Trials will be in Ft. Lauderdale in February, I have been training there since October. The conditions aren’t the same here, but it’s the quality of the racing. The benefit is that I’m sailing against some of the world’s top Finn sailors.” Right behind Hall in fourth is USA’s Geoff Ewenson, who also plans to compete in the Trials.

Racing continues today through Friday, 30 January.

Results (day 2)

Europe (20 boats) )

1. Smidova, CZE, 1-4-1-1-1-1, 5

2. Gaillard, USA, 2-2-2-(4)-3-2, 11

3. Blanck, AUS, 3-(14)-6-3-2-3, 17

Finn (35 boats)

1. Christensen, DEN, 1-2-4-3-1, 11

2. Kuszinerewicz, POL, 2-4-2-1-2, 11

3. Hall, USA, 4-1-3-5-4, 17

470 Men (6 boats)

1. McNay/Kinsolving, USA, 1-1-2-1-2, 7

2. Anderson-Mitterling/Biehl, USA, 2-2-1-2-4, 11

3. Noakes/Beaudoin, CAN, 3-7-6-7-3, 26

470 Women (5 boats)

1. Grobe/Kussatz, GER, 11-3-3-3-1, 21

2. Carapiet/Besse, USA, 4-5-11-4-5, 29

3. Jolly/Reischmann, USA, 5-4-7-5-8, 29

49er (20 boats)

1. Wadlow/Spaulding, USA, (9)-2-2-3-2-1, 10

2. Rast/Steiger, SUI, 2-6-1-1-4-(15), 14

3. Fitzpatrick/Brown, IRL, 5-3-4-7-1-(11), 20

Laser (63 boats)

1. Moberg, NOR, 5–1-4-2-2, 14

2. Mendelblatt, USA, 2-13-2-4-5, 26

3. Goodison, GBR, 4-18-1-6-3, 32

Mistral Men (24 boats)

1. Rodrigues, POR, 1-1-1-2-2, 7

2. Santos, BRA, 3-5-3-5-3, 19

3. Guyadr, FRA, 5-2-2-4-9, 22

Mistral Women (14 boats)

1. Konstantinova, BUL, 23-20-22-20-15, 100

2. Frey, GRE, DNC-19-18-15-20, 111

3. Borges, BRA, 28-22-25-22-25, 122

Sonars (14 boats)

1. Hessels/Van De Veen/Rossen, NED, 3-16-2-8, 20

2. Doerr/Wilson/Ross, USA, 1-2-9-5-7, 24

3. Mackie/MacDonald/Tingley, CAN, 8-7-2-1-6, 24

Star (58 boats)

1. Reynolds/Erickson, USA, 2-6-18-3, 29

2. Loof/Ekstrom, SWE, 17-3-4-15, 39

3. Beashel/Giles, AUS, 13-14-6-10, 43

Tornado (29 boats)

1. Figueroa/Hernandez, PUR, 8-4-6-1-5, 24

2. Johansson/Curtis, CAN, 6-10-13-2-2, 33

3. Guck/Farrar, USA, 4-1-15-3-11, 34

2.4 Metres (18 boats)

1. Madrigali, USA, 5-1-1-3-2, 12

2. Berlin, SWE, 3-4-3-8-4, 22

3. Brown, USA, 1-2-4-6-11, 24

Yngling (17 boats)

1. Ferris/Jameson/White, NZL, 3-2-4-1-4, 14

2. Barkow/Capozzi/Howe, USA, 1-12-7-3-6, 29

3. Swett/Purdy/Touchette, USA, 2-11-1-5-14, 33