Miami, FL (January 22, 2019) – Thirty-six sailors from twelve nations were on Biscayne Bay for three spectacular races for the start of the 2019 RS:X North American Championship.

Winds ranging from 20 to 29 knots made the bay a frothy playground for the Olympic Class windsurfers. Downwinds were incredibly tough due to the short, steep chop created by the high winds, shallow depth, and the heavy tide due by the recent super moon. Sailors worked hard to keep their boards from flying in the chop, but leaders in the fleet made tacks and jibes look easy work.

French sailor, Hélène Noesmoen, winner of the 2018 World Cup Series Miami and guest coach at Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, was the star of the day by dominating the women’s and youth fleet with three bullets. Poland’s Piotr Myszka leads the men’s fleet with two bullets, and Miami’s Manu Nores leads the youth division.

In the men’s fleet, Piotr Myszka from Poland lead race one wire to wire with Great Britain’s Tom Squire and France’s Louis Giard biting at his heels. In race two, the top three was almost a repeat of race one with Myszka winning and Squire and Giard swapping positions. The final race of the day, saw a bit of a mix up in the top of the fleet, with Louis Giard taking the win, followed by teammate Pierre le Coq, and China’s Kun Bi finishing third.

The top North American in the Men’s Fleet is currently Ignacio Berenguer from Mexico.

The Women and Youth (under 22 years) raced together in the 8.5 meter sail division. Hélène Noesmoen, from France and youth sailor, Manu Nores, from Miami, were consistent with Hélène winning every race and Manu placing second. Japan’s Fujiko Onishi, demonstrated great strength in race one, taking third place, while Britain’s young Emma Wilson, who missed race one, came in to take third in the next two races with an effortless performance.

The top North American women after day one is Mariana Aguilar from Mexico.

Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, which has one of the fastest growing youth windsurfing programs in the USA, is hosting the regatta which serves as a training event for the World Cup Series Miami to be held next week. Racing concludes tomorrow with three more races planned.

Results: https://yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=6152 / sailingscuttlebutt