Pictured: Bora Gulari (Detroit, Mich.) and Louisa Chafee (Warwick, R.I.), Nacra 17, US Sailing Team Sperry. Photo: Jen Edney/US Sailing.
Nacra 17 (Mixed Two-Person Multihull)
Rio 2016 Olympic Athlete Selection Series, Current Standings:
Updates:
February 14, 2016
Clearwater, Fla. – The Nacra 17 World Championship has concluded in Clearwater, Florida, and Bora Gulari (Detroit, Mich.) and Louisa Chafee (Warwick, R.I.) have won a place on the Rio 2016 U.S. Olympic Sailing Team competing in the two-person mixed multihull event. US Sailing’s Athlete Selection Series consisted of two regattas; January’s Sailing World Cup Miami, and the Worlds in Clearwater.
Coming in a close second after a hard-fought month of racing was F18 standout Michael Easton (Bedford, Mass.) and America’s Cup veteran Katie Pettibone (Port Huron, Mich.). Two-time Olympian Mark Mendelblatt (Miami Fla.) and his wife Carolina Mandelblatt (Miami, Fla.), also an Olympian, were third among the U.S. teams vying for selection. Rio 2016 will be the first Olympic Games for both Gulari and Chafee.
“I’m definitely excited, and proud to represent my country,” said Gulari, a two-time Moth World Champion and US Sailing Rolex Yachtsman of the Year. “I feel like the hard work has just begun. We’ve bought ourselves another six months of sailing together.” The Olympic regatta will take place from August 8-21. Gulari and Chafee have also been named to the U.S. national team for Olympic and Paralympic classes, the US Sailing Team Sperry.
Gulari noted that while he and Chafee were happy to be selected for Team USA, they felt that there is significant room for improvement in the lead up to the Games. “We had flashes of brilliance this week [at the Worlds], but we have to figure out how to do better. I’ve been full-on trying to figure out how to get faster, and learning [about] the boat. Now it’s time to learn a lot more. Louisa’s a great crew, and I need to figure out how to do things better.” Gulari started sailing the Nacra 17 multihull, a new class for this Olympic cycle, just over a year ago. Chafee has been in the class since 2014.
Chafee was amused at the thought of helping Gulari, often cited as one of the best American helmsmen of his generation, get up to speed over the coming months. “We’re going to whip him into shape, don’t you worry.”‘
Chafee said that despite having a limited amount of time together compared to other teams, they were quickly gaining strength and confidence in each other. The high winds and choppy seas at the Clearwater Worlds provided another opportunity for growth. “This was definitely one of the most challenging weeks of sailing that we could have had as a new team, but we persevered,” said Chafee, a three-time college All-American. “We reminded ourselves every day that we’re a team, and that we could do this.”
When asked to reflect on what it will be like to line up for the first race in Rio just a few months from now, Gulari said that it would be a profound moment for him. “My heart might flutter a little bit, but it’ll mean a lot. I’ll be very proud, that’s for sure.”
February 2:
Nacra 17 World Championship, Clearwater (February 7 –14, 2016) – Event Homepage & Results
January 29:
Sailing World Cup Miami – The leading American boat heading into the second and final trials event, the Nacra 17 Worlds, will be two-time Moth World Champion Bora Gulari (Detroit, Mich.) and Louisa Chafee (Warwick, R.I.), who finished 12th, eight spots ahead of two-time Olympian Mark Mendelblatt and his wife, fellow Olympian Carolina Mendelblatt (St. Petersburg, Fla.). “I’d say we are happy with our regatta,” said Chafee. “We did not have much time training together prior to this event, but we are definitely gelling quickly. We still have a few things to learn about each other and the boat, but are feeling really solid.”
Sailing World Cup Miami was a U.S. Olympic Team selection event for the Nacra 17 class. The second and final event will be the Nacra 17, 49er and 49erFX World Championships, Clearwater, Florida, February 7 –14, 2016.
Key Names:
- Bora Gulari (Detroit, Mich., left) and Louisa Chafee (Warwick, R.I., right), US Sailing Team Sperry: Gulari is a US Sailing Rolex Yachtsman of the Year and two-time Moth World Champion. Chafee entered Olympic-class sailing after a successful four years with the Brown University Sailing Team.
- Mark and Carolina Mendelblatt (St. Petersburg, Fla.): Mark Mendelblatt is a two-time Olympian in the Laser and Star classes. He is a silver medalist at both the Pan American Games and the Laser World Championship. Carolina was an Athens 2004 Olympian for Portugal.
- Sarah Newberry (Miami, Fla., left) and Matthew Whitehead (Panama City, Fla., right), US Sailing Team Sperry: Newberry and Whitehead have been the top-performaning U.S. Nacra 17 team for the past two years, and represented their country at the Rio 2016 Olympic Test Event. The pair have a host of national and continental multihull titles between them, and together won the 2015 (non-Olympic) F18 Americas Championship.
- Michael Easton (Bedford, Mass., right) and Katie Pettibone (Port Huron, Mich., left): Easton is a three-time F18 national champion, among several other mutihull titles. Pettibone is one of most accomplished female sailors of her generation, having competed with three America’s Cup syndicates and two Volvo/Whitbread Ocean Race teams.
- Steph Hudson (Winnetka, Ill., left) and Dalton Tebo (Sarasota, Fla., right): Hudson is a Club 420 North American Champion, US Sailing Youth Champion, and collegiate All-American. Tebo has won the Sears Cup, F18 Midwinters and the Great Texas 300.
