The third day of San Pedro OCR Week 2 racing saw significant movement across all three Olympic classes, with familiar leaders holding firm while challengers reshuffled the standings behind them. With just two days remaining before the top 10 in each class advance to medal races, the pressure is building on the waters off San Pedro, California.
Great Britain’s Freya Black and Saskia Tidey completed a methodical three-day climb to take over first place in the 49erFX fleet. The pair improved from third overall after opening day to second on Day 2, before seizing control with two top-5 finishes on Wednesday.
“We’ve just been trying to keep a consistent scoreline,” Tidey said. “It’s been a challenging place to sail. Sometimes it’s pretty obvious what to do, and other times it’s actually quite confusing. So, executing at the start is really what we’ve been focused on, and then just getting into the race and using our speed.”
“And our speed is pretty good,” Black added. “Being one of the quickest boats on the race course gives us options of where to start, and that’s the really key bit.”
At the start of the second race, Black and Tidey were forced to avoid a collision, dropping them to 10th. Each boat is allowed one score discard during the week, which they applied to that result. They rebounded emphatically with a bullet in the third and final race to secure the overall lead. Canadians Georgia and Antonia Lewin-LaFrance, who led the regatta through the opening two days, slipped to fifth after three mid-fleet finishes but remain within podium reach.
Behind the new leaders, Sweden’s Vilma Bobek and Ebba Berntsson stepped into second overall, while Spain’s Paula Barceló and María Cantero moved onto the podium in third.
The 49er fleet remained equally competitive. Germany’s Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger held their overall lead after posting third- and second-place finishes in the last two races of the day. Uruguay’s Hernán Umpierre and Fernando Diz continued one of the week’s most impressive climbs, advancing from sixth at the start of the regatta to second overall after combining their third top-3 finish of the week with another pair of consistent races. France’s Erwan Fischer and Clément Péquin remain in third.
Dutch Olympic veterans Bart Lambriex and Floris van de Werken recovered from a difficult second day to climb back into podium contention, moving from ninth to fourth after two top-5 race finishes.
Van de Werken explained that the future 2028 Olympic venue continues to reward the team that reaches the favored right side first. “We’re all trying to execute the same plan, so that can lead to quite risky situations on the start line. Everyone is trying to find a way to get into that corner.”
Chinese teammates Zaiding Wen and Tian Liu demonstrated exactly how valuable those starts can be by winning the opening race of the day. “We managed the first race very well,” said Tian. “We had a really good start, got to the right side lay line, and then we were leading our group.”
“In the other races, we had some struggling at the start line,” added Zaiding. “We’re going to keep figuring it out and keep pushing.” The Paris Olympians now sit just three places outside the top-ten cutoff for the Finals, within striking distance with six races remaining in the qualifying series.
The Nacra 17 class standings also continued to tighten, although France’s Tim Mourniac and Aloïse Retornaz maintained control at the top of the overall standings.
Olympic silver medalists John Gimson and Anna Burnet opened the day with a win to move into second overall before getting entangled in a port-starboard incident during the day’s final race. Ultimately, six sailors went to the protest room after racing, and the result dropped the Brits into fifth place, bumping Sweden’s Emil Järudd and Hanna Jonsson into second and Australia’s Brin Liddell and Rhiannan Brown into third.
Further down the standings, Americans Hoel Menard and Sarah Newberry Moore continue making steady gains in just their second month of full-time campaigning together, finishing Day 3 in position to attack the top 10.
“We’re really happy with the progress we’re making,” Newberry Moore said. “We’re taking all the good things from this week because just a month and a half ago we started training full time.”
The pair battled through multiple equipment failures on Wednesday while earning valuable experience against one of the strongest Nacra 17 fleets assembled this season. “It’s a privilege to be sailing with the top 15 boats in the world,” said Newberry Moore. “We’re taking notes and understanding the venue better and better,” added Menard.
With nine races now complete, attention shifts toward Thursday’s racing, where every finish becomes increasingly valuable before the fleets are reduced to the top 10 for Saturday’s Final. While the leaders have begun to establish themselves, tight point spreads throughout each class leave opportunities for sailors to continue moving up and down the leaderboard.
Racing continues through Saturday, August 8. Event details, entry lists, results, and schedules can be found at sanpedroocr.org. In this second week of racing, 140 competitors from 20 countries are competing, including 27 Olympians. Among them are winners of seven Olympic medals including one gold, five silver, and one bronze.
Generous support for the regatta is provided by Capstan, BP Home, American Marine, and the Pacific Environmental Corporation. Race Committee and volunteer support is made possible with the help of World Sailing, Los Angeles Yacht Club, Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, Balboa Yacht Club, California Yacht Club, Long Beach Yacht Club, and Newport Harbor Yacht Club.
San Pedro OCR is one of only two major Olympic Class events that take place in the United States.
