Lanzarote, Canary Islands – 3/26/2021 – Racing wrapped on Friday, March 26 with the completion of the final gold fleet race and medal race for both the 49er and 49erFX classes. All five American skiffs qualified for the gold fleet after three days of opening series racing that placed them in the top 25. The location, opportunity and importance of the event attracted a deep fleet of Olympic class talent.
Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wis.) and Maggie Shea (Wilmette, Ill.) finished the gold fleet in the top 10, which promoted them to the final medal race. After finishing fifth in the medal race, the FX team ended the event with an eighth-place finish overall.
49erFX – 46 boats
- Stephanie Roble, Maggie Shea – 8th
49er – 44 boats
- Andrew Mollerus (Larchmont, NY), Ian MacDiarmid (Delray Beach, Fla.) – 13th
- Nevin Snow (San Diego, Calif.), Dane Wilson (Ojai, Calif.) – 19th
- Ian Barrows (St. Thomas, USVI), Hans Henken (Coronado, Calif.) – 21st
- Harry Melges (Fontana, Wis.), Finn Rowe (Fontana, Wis.) – 23rd
“Overall, it was a very well–run regatta,” said Mollerus. “Most of our racing has been in an informal setting over the last year, so it was a lot of fun to finally have a real event where everyone showed up and gave it their all.”
“We raced on two different racecourses throughout the regatta,” said Snow. “One course was further offshore where we experienced bigger waves and more stable wind. The other course was under a large headland and dormant volcano. This course was much shiftier and unpredictable and challenged us to keep our heads out of the boat.”
In recent months, Lanzarote, Spain has become a training hub for Olympians and Olympic hopefuls from all over the world. Multiple classes from the US Sailing Team traveled to the Canary Islands for training, joined by numerous athletes from European countries.
“Lanzarote is one of the main Canary Islands off the coast of North Africa in the Atlantic Ocean,” explained Hans Henken. “Training started here because of the great sailing, but more so because of how remote it is from the rest of the world, so it has its own natural protection from Covid-19. Testing is strict to get on the island and, therefore, Covid cases are low, which has allowed for sailing to take place in more of a ‘normal’ behavior.”
“Lanzarote is great, and the locals are very welcoming to all of the sailors in the town of Playa Blanca,” added Nevin Snow.
Luther Carpenter gave some insight on the value the island has brought to the team: “Lanzarote has served us extremely well. It’s been a paradise off on its own in the middle of Covid. The island has delivered Japan-esque conditions, been a safe place to set up shop, and has proved to be a great place for the community of Olympians and elite athletes to convene and push each other. It’s quenched the competitive thirst of our sailors who have done an excellent job domestically throughout the pandemic and provided us with a check-in with the rest of the international field. We’re pleased and enthusiastic about the progress we’ve made and it’s putting us in a good place for the final five months to the Games as well as the beginning of preparations for the 2024 cycle.”
The week’s conditions presented several unique challenges for racers and forced them to stay on their toes and keep their heads out of the boat.
Henken agreed the racing was tricky: “We sailed on the leeward shore of the island (southwestern point) which is behind a large volcano. The wind fills from the north and must bend to the west or the east to make its way around. It rarely ‘settles in’ on a dominant direction throughout the day, which results in a broad range and variance in the wind direction. This, coupled with a tricky sea state ranging from flat to swell to very confused washing machine chop, made for exciting racing!”
Cover photo: Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea battle it out at the 2021 Lanzarote International Regatta | Photo by Sailing Energy
