Clearwater Worlds Results:

http://www.manage2sail.com/en-US/event/8845f1dc-a649-4880-bf22-abf02522e09a/#!/results?classId=83806ed6-1e5f-4e0d-819d-5e7497871588

I check into this board to see what smack my friends are talking every now and then, and I run across this...from a guy who is on the "multihull council" You've been extremely rude to me in the past, but this is straight up childish. Glad to see the leadership is in strong hands! JC

BTW, awesome podcasts dude... Gotta listen to Randy's still but Macca was hilarious

Randy's was great, some funny butt stories. Great podcast! Keep up the good stuff.

No report up yet, but it looks like four more races today. Still a tight race for Rio between Easton, Mendelblatt and Gulari. Besson is just galloping away with this one.

Mike

Day 4 report: http://www.nacra17class.com/nacra-17-worlds-running-on-all-cylinders/

Waterhouse got his OCS fixed.

Mike

Three races scored today. One race left for tomorrow, and while it's not the event's medal race, it's still too close to call for who will represent USA in Rio, so in some respects, it's even more critical for us. Very exciting!!!

Day 5 report: http://www.nacra17class.com/unearthly-unison-besson-and-riou-fly-on-water/

Mike

I believe the final pre-medal race should be live on YouTube shortly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS8v-aQJaHI

Then again - maybe not. I saw some N17s in the background - though they might be queuing up for the next race.

Announcer just confirmed it will be coming up. 49erFX up first. Under AP at the moment.

Clearly I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. Not seeing any N17 sailing...

Patience . . .

it's coming on soon.

Results are posted for the fleet (non-medal) race.

If the current results stand, here's how the US teams rank for Rio:

Bora/Louisa: 14
Easton/Pettibone: 16
Mendelblatts: 17

Wow, that's about as tight as you can get!

Mike

Bora Gulari and Louisa Chafee win selection series per the twitter feed.

Now

Did we really need that idiot yammering on forever (at the end of the medal race) about potential differences in the OD boats? He clearly was filling dead air time, and had absolutely no reason to question the boats. Unbelievable.

Mike

Absolutely no reason to question the boats? Really? No, their concerns surely must be unjustified with several US teams having gone through 3 platforms in the three year run-up to the Olympiad, or, sorry, the trials. I almost forgot, the Games aren't for another six months.

Because, you know, it's totally normal for a OD manufacturer to mail out a gag-order to their owners while they "resolve the technical issues."

Why does this look so awkward?

https://youtu.be/bek5cU3wve8

Mike

Probably a 31 out of 43 is not feel good result with which you capture the slot. The team called it... "perseverance"

The up side spin is that Bora recognizes that he has 6 months to figure the boat out and says so (WOW) ... and a track record on the moths of doing just that. The key will be finding the right international coach for the final push.

I think the two event selection process is the right solution and better then the winner take all Olympic trials of old. The 2016 N17 fleet does not provide a lot of support one way or the other for the new process tho. The old system presumed that the US Sailors would be peaking 6 months before the games.. Well... in 2016... the term peak has new meaning.

I don't understand your post. Where is this "Gag order"?

Nacra released a Technical Bulletin informing customers that they would be improving warranty support and details of all upgrades made to the boats by hull number. If you'd like to see this please email me.

I spent the week at the Miami World Cup, sailors were generally understanding. We could absolutely improve the production but the most important thing we can do is stand behind the product by reimbursing sailors for repairs, we are doing so.

You do realize 49ers generally last less than 6 months? They've been an olympic class for 20 years.
Myself and most of the top guys in the F18 fleet cycle through boats in less sailing days than these boats have seen. In a year, these guys see 200+ days, that's probably 5-8 years with how often I sail. Since I've been involved in the F18 I've been getting a new boat every 2-3 years.

-Todd Riccardi
Nacra North America
Todd@NacraSailing.com

Bora is an amazingly dedicated sailor. He truly devoted every resource he could to improving in this boat.
Bora was foiling steadily in training before any other U.S. teams were. In late September I watched Mike sail circles around Bora by half a leg in nearly every race. I spoke to Bora a few times between then and January and he told me "They were really figuring some things out". He even asked me what other sailors were saying about him. Well other sailors told me that Bora has a way of looking at things and deciding whether it works for him and if not he finds what does work for him. That is what can set him apart.
I'm sure the next 6 months will be even more hardcore, it will be exciting to see what he can do.
These guys all really deserve to go to the games, I'm bummed for everyone that didn't make it especially since they dedicated so much time to it. Personally I think the two event system is ideal, everything was laid on the line over two events, all the U.S. teams were 110% fully prepared in sailing ability, spare parts (even spare boats!). At the end of the day, the best team came out on top.