After the first day of racing had been postponed due to high seas, Alec Andersen and Chris Brockbank, made steady progress throughout day 1 of the Clearwater North Americans to be in 15th position at the Clearwater Community Sailing Centre in Florida, USA. Photo: Provided

The 49erFX were up first on the day starting crisply at 10:30 am. Under clear skies and a chilly 12 knots of breeze, the 22 strong fleet got going. After sitting on shore for day 1, the competitors were quite keen to get racing. Wisely, experienced Race Officer David Campbell James used the U flag to prevent any general recalls and keep racing on a tight schedule.

“No sailing yesterday due to big wind and bigger waves. Looks like awesome conditions for today though!” commented the duo of Brockbank and Andersen, who are looking to secure a place at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

The 49er fleet got going immediately after the 49erFX. The breeze had shifted 20 degrees to the left in the last 49erFX race which meant there was a long fetch in the new upwind direction. The immediate effect was much larger waves to fully challenge the 49er fleet. The first race of the day was one sided, with all the top guns aiming for the left corner assuming the wind would keep backing.

Andersen and Brockbank would suffer a “throwout” and finish 21st.

In the second race of the day, the course was much more balanced in terms of where to head, but again the Olympic hopefuls struggled and came home 21st.

Race three got under way with even a few more knots of wind and even larger waves. Puffs pushed up to 18 knots and the sea state, especially at the bottom of the course was treacherous. but the boys battled hard to finish 15th.

“Extremely tough day for us yesterday in wild conditions” commented the pair via social media.

Day two was a much steadier day for wind and with sea conditions more suitable, Andersen and Brockbank finished 14th, 9th and 3rd to place 15th overall.

The participating classes of Clearwater North Americans: 49er, 49erFX, & Nacra 17 feature more than 140 competitors from 19 different countries and 5 continents.

The world’s best skiff sailors are vying for the North American title. This is a warm-up to help serve them well at the Clearwater 2016 World Championship on February 7 – 14, 2016.