Sailing

Miamians Mendelblatt and Faithtied for regatta lead

By Susan Cocking

scocking@miamiherald.com

You would never know by their performance in two days of racing that the Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta is not that big a deal to Miamians Mark Mendelblatt and Brian Fatih.

The pair already had won a berth on the U.S. Olympic team in the Star class going into this event, which opened Monday on Biscayne Bay. But with ISAF World Cup points at stake, skipper and crew are pushing hard for a win.

After four races in a fleet of 30 boats that includes Olympians and world champions, Mendelblatt and Fatih are tied for the lead with Norwegians Eivind Melleby and Petter Moerland Pedersen.

“Honestly, it’s not a major regatta for us right now,” Fatih said. “We definitely want to win. It’ll improve our standings in the World Cup.”

More than 500 sailors from 44 countries are competing in 10 Olympic and three Paralympic (disabled) classes of boats Wednesday through Friday. A medal round among the top-10 finishers in each Olympic class will be held Saturday.

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