As most sailing events move to warmer waters this time of the year, one such event is all set to begin on January 29th. This is the Hempel World Cup Series, the 2019 edition being held in Miami. The race would last from 29th January to 3rd February and is a chance for fans of the series to see the nine defending champions return and defend their titles. This particular year would mark the 30th edition of the race.
It is an Olympic level sailing regatta that is held in Miami as the standard venue. About 650 sailors participate here from 60 nations in ten events that are part of the race. Giles Scott of GBR, one of the gold medalists of the event, is one of the several medalists of Olympic standards who would be competing. There are a total of 34 medalists who would be part of this race along with several finishers of the World Cup.
There are participants who are favorites of this race; Lisa Darmanin and Jason Waterhouse would be representing Australia who would come in for the Nacra 17 category. They had secured gold in the Hempel World Cup Series that had been held in Japan in September last year. They had claimed their titles in the Medal Race a year back when the competition had been little less stressful.
Darmanin and Waterhouse had made their achievements with ease in 2018 on the waters of Biscayne Bay. This year there would be more contenders in the fleet of Nacra 17 which comprise of 31 boats. There would be windsurfing with the RS:X series and others like 49erFX class. All the categories would see intense competition in both men and women’s categories. Dylan Fletcher-Scott and Stu Bithell of GBR would be the champions of 2018 returning to defend their titles this year.