Mission in Miami (From Dorset Echo)

Mission in Miami

8:19am Friday 1st February 2013 in Sport By Laura Kitching

FAST and furious racing is underway at the first Olympic and Paralympic classes regatta of the year in Miami, Florida.

Weymouth’s windsurfers Nick Dempsey and Bryony Shaw and Portland sailor Megan Pascoe are among the nine British contenders out on the waters of Biscayne Bay this week.

The Miami World Cup, which finishes tomorrow, marks the second of four stops on the 2012-2013 International Sailing Federation (ISAF) World Cup series.

Alongside Shaw and Dempsey, rising stars Elliot Carney and Izzy Hamilton are competing in the RS:X windsurfing class – fine-tuning their skills before the RS:X World Championships in Brazil this month.

Dempsey made a dominant start to Monday’s racing but slipped from first to third place after three days of the competition.

On his Facebook page he said: “Another beautiful day in Miami. Came unstuck a little today but still sailing well. The results don’t count for much until Friday.”

Four up-and-coming British sailors – Elliot Hanson, Alex Mills Barton, Jack Wetherell and Matt Reid – are racing in the 72-strong Laser dinghy fleet.

Meanwhile, World Championship bronze medallist Pascoe, of Underhill, is vying for a podium place in the 2.4mR keelboat class.

She has made an impressive comeback after being disqualified in race one for crossing the starting line too early and described the racing as “a lot of fun”.

The 26-year-old said: “We’ve had a nice 13-knot breeze and 24 degrees is perfect for 2.4 sailing. It is all about learning at this stage in the campaign and I have made some big steps forward this week with some clear plans for the future so I’m really pleased.

“I can’t wait to see what the rest of the week holds.”

Pascoe added: “Our fleet is small but with three of the best Canadian sailors and the best Norwegian sailor it is packed with talent.

“Miami OCR is a great way to start the season. It will only get colder from here.”

In six of the Olympic classes – the RS:X men and women, Laser, Radial, 49er and 49erFX – organisers are testing a variety new racing formats under consideration for Rio 2016.

The new Nacra 17 mixed multihull has made its international regatta debut this week but British crews must wait until later in the season for their first competitive outing as they only received their first boats a month ago.

The final medal deciders will take place tomorrow. Follow the action at http://mocr.ussailing.org or check out @BritishSailing on Twitter.

Follow Pascoe on Twitter @pascoesailing and online at meganpascoe.co.uk