Written by Meredith Glacken
SAN PEDRO, CA – The first day of racing for the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 fleets Monday at San Pedro OCR gave the fleets’ sailors their first opportunity to test themselves on the waters that will play host to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Winds built into the mid-to-upper teens following the afternoon starts, and ocean swell was present across the race course. By and large, the day’s conditions rewarded precise boat handling outside the L.A. Harbor’s break water.
“It was really nice conditions out there, but really tough,” said France’s Aloïse Retornaz, who with crewmate Tim Mourniac, leads the Nacra 17 fleet after Day 1. “There were a lot of waves and the wind was picking up all day long.”
The pair fired their opening salvo in the first race of the day, crossing the start line on port and clearing the fleet before taking an aggressive line toward the windward mark to sustain the early lead.
“We managed to turn each mark in first, and it was perfect to start the day,” said Mourniac.
Mourniac and Retornaz added third- and second-place runs to the day to finish atop the standings. Olympic silver medalists John Gimson and Anna Burnet of Great Britain sit second overall, while Sweden’s Emil Järudd and Hanna Jonsson climbed into third after winning the day’s final race.
In the 49er fleet, Germany’s Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger emerged as the Day 1 leaders after putting together 2 top-5 finishes. France’s Erwan Fischer and Clément Péquin sit second overall, followed by Australia’s Harry Price and Max Paul.
For local brothers Grant and Jordan Janov, racing just minutes from home, the challenge of the day came down to solving one of the L.A. Waterfront’s defining tactical puzzles.
“We were looking for a high-end port start, exiting to the right, and I think the whole fleet was too. So it was a tough day if you couldn’t execute those, but if you could, you were gone,” explained Jordan.
The two finished the day encouraged after matching speed with some of the world’s best crews.
“This whole fleet is basically a Gold Fleet,” Grant said of the compressed talent in the class. “We’ve been focusing on boat speed for the past year, and this is the last regatta of the season where we get to check in with the international fleet. We’re quite fortunate that the sailors who are here are the best in the world.”
French Olympians Erwan Fischer and Clément Péquin credited strong starts with keeping them near the front throughout the afternoon, but said consistency will become increasingly important as the week progresses.
“We did 2 good starts in the first and second race,” Fischer said. “The last one wasn’t as good, but we managed to come back through the fleet. It’s close racing between every boat. Tomorrow we’ll try to put together 3 good races.”
The 49erFX class also delivered tight racing, with Canadian sisters Georgia and Antonia Lewin-Lafrance taking the overall lead, bookending the day with second- and first-place finishes. Great Britain’s Freya Black and Saskia Tidey are second overall, while Sweden’s Vilma Bobeck and Ebba Berntsson sit third.
Two-time Olympian Paula Barceló and crewmate María Cantero of Spain commented on the Days of Thunder style “rubbin’ is racin’” competition they observed.
“It was definitely that,” said Cantero, who with Barceló, found themselves in a scrap at the bottom mark with the Canadians during the second race of the day. The room-at-the-mark incident resulted in a trip to the protest room for both teams.
“All the top teams are here this week, so that makes it a very, very, very hard field to compete in,” said American Lily Myers, who recently launched her first Olympic campaign with Maddie Hawkins on helm.
Sailors in the 3 fleets continued to emphasize that the week is as equally about building a deeper understanding of the future Olympic venue as it is about results.
“You can’t make any mistakes here,” said Nacra 17 helm Riley Gibbs of the U.S., newly partnered with crewmate Kay Brunsvold. “And everyone’s really fast, so we expect to find ourselves battling it out through every race.”
Racing continues today, Tuesday, with 3 more races scheduled in each class. In the 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 classes, sailors compete together as a fleet for the first 5 days. Medal races take place on the 6th and final day, when only the top 10 in each class compete in a 2-race sail-off Final series for the podium.
The second week of San Pedro OCR began Monday, August 3, and racing continues through Saturday, August 8. Event details, entry lists, results, and schedules can be found at sanpedroocr.org and you can follow the regatta on instagram at @SanPedroOCR.
Generous support for the regatta is provided by Capstan, BP Home, American Marine, and the Pacific Environmental Corporation (PENCO). 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 1 of only 2 major Olympic Class events that take place in the United States.
