Olympic Games Race Day

Short story. We gained a few points on Second place CAN.

Slightly longer story; The race we sailed poorly, we won. The race we sailed well, we finished 15th.

Torben Greal of Brazil all but won the gold today with his 2,7. He has just outsailed everyone so far, no on is even close to his consistency.

The conditions today were initially 8 knots from 235 softening to 4 knots from 200. The last lap of the second race was very light..less than four knots of wind.

In the first race, we had a good start and went left with Grael and Percy. Our speed was very good. Unfortunately the right was the place to be most of the day. We got it wrong all race up to the last leward mark. There the committee moved the windward mark to a heading of 220. As soon as we rounded the leward mark, we tacked onto port to clear our air. I looked at the compass and it said 225. Then I saw the mark almost right in front of us. Strangely, the others were fighting to go left and stayed on starboard tack. We stretched toward the mark, finally got a small header, tacked and had a nice lead. Greal sailed a great race to scramble out of the left and still finish second.

In the second race, we had a good start, sailed fast, crossed the competition when we could, and were in 6th at the last leward mark. MacDonnald (CAN) and Holm of (DEN) were about last and second to last. This was shaping up well. Up the last windward leg, we lost four boats, all on the right side of us. Down the last run, we went in the middle and lost boats on both sides to finish 15th. We lost two points by 2 seconds. That is bad. I remember last year here, one of the keys to our success was that we won all the close finishes.

Anyway, we are still third, three races to go and for sure, as we were shown again today, anything can happen on this race course.

Five hours in the heat, concentrating and creeping along at a snails pace has left me tired. Going for a quick dinner and big sleep. Tomorrow will bring more sailboat racing.

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Olympic Games Race Day

We were more lucky than good today. We finished 6th and moved into third place. The scores are very tight except for Grael who has a big lead.

Today we had Meltemi wind, (wind off the land), about 22 knots at the start and as light as 14 knots at times during the race. The wind was shifting through about 25 degrees. We had a good start and good speed but never got in phase with the shifts. We trouped around in 12th most of the day and got a nice shift, more by luck than skill, on the last run to pass four boats.

It is very testing out there. To be out of phase…going the wrong way…and not be able to get back into phase is very frustrating and costs you a lot of distance as the shifts are big. It requires a lot of patience…more patience than I have at times…to just hang in there and try to make something of your position. This is the ultimate testing ground of patience.

Ross MacDonnald got hit by Peter Bromby before the start and it tore out Ross’s jib tracks and did some other damage. He sailed the course with just a mainsail and was awarded redress after the race. They averaged his points so far(26 for 5 races) and that gave him 5.2 points for today’s race, so that will keep him in second place.

The race was won by Freddy Loof, the current World Champion and probably the favorite going into the regatta. Freddy has had a very tough time this week and is still in 12th overall after winning today’s race. The French sailed the best of everyone moving from 12th at the first mark to 2nd at the finish. Rohart (FRA) was the 2003 World Champion. Third was Ian Percy (GBR), fourth Neeleman (NED), 5th Grael (BRA), 6th USA, 7th Holm (DEN), 8th Bermudez (ESP).

The big event was the Swiss fouling the Brits at the top of the 2nd windward leg and going from 3rd to 10th after doing their 720. They were very unlucky. As the Swiss approached the windward mark on the starboard layline, they got hit with a 20 degree header. They tried to shoot the mark, lost speed and ended up on port tack in front of Percy, who shouted “protest” loud enough for Marazzi’s mom to hear back in Bern. That took the edge off a potentially spectacular races for the Swiss.

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Olympic Games Race Day

Back on track today. It was a very difficult day wind wise. 30 degree shifts and unstable wind strength…8-12 knots. To give you an idea of the day, the Spanish led at the first mark and finished last. And there weren’t spinning 720’s. It was just that tricky out there.

We had a good start but fell behind on the first windward leg and run by not looking out side the boat enough. For the last four legs, we got our heads out and got in phase and steadily marched back up through the fleet to finish 3rd. No doubt, we had our fair share of luck as well. You have to be lucky here to do well.

Ross MacDonnald sailed well and won the race. Torben Greal, the regatta leader looked set to take his first bad race as he rounded the last leward mark 12th. He played the right side of the 3rd beat and rounded the top mark 2nd and finished second to maintain his string of top five finishes.

Our third moved us up into a tie for fourth with the Swiss. The wind died completely after the finish of the first race and then filled from just about every direction over the next three hours. We waited out there until 17:00 when the committee sent us in. So tomorrow we will have one race to make up rather than a lay day.

The points are still very close and there is more than half the regatta left to do. Tomorrows forecast is for a fairly strong Meltemi…possibly over 20 knots.

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Olympic Games Race Day

Tough Day at the office for USA. In the first race we did two 720’s at the windward mark (Penalty turns-4 complete circles), and fell into a hole on the last beat and got left for dead. In the second race we were over the line early at the pin end, we realized that it was us and went back. We managed to claw our way back to 10th in that one. Meanwhile Torben Grael of Brazil won both races and is launched into the lead.

The circumstances surrounding the 720’s were petty in my opinion. It is not normal Star class racing out here. Basically, some competitors are looking to “catch” people in a foul which is not the norm in the Star class. These are not the long time Star sailors. Anyway, we learned to be aware today.

Our speed was good all day. We approached the first windward mark in a clear 3rd and in the last 300 yards there was a shift that put a clump of boats, that we were previously clear of, into the picture. That was a bit unlucky, but still I did not deal with the situation properly. In the second race we moved through the fleet well. So that is the good news to take forward.

4 down 7 races to go. A lot of things will happen between now and next Saturday. We just have to stay on our toes.

The Positions as best I can recall: 1) BRA 11, 2) DEN 20, 3) SUI 21, 4) CAN 25, 5) ESP 26, 6) ITA 31, 7) USA 32, 8) GBR 32, 9) FRA 33, 10) AUS 39

Tomorrow is supposed to be big breeze so we will see what happens. Could be too much to race initially.

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Olympic Games Letters

I am getting so many nice letter from fans I thought I should share a couple with you. The first is from Sally Dane, Austin Sperry’s girlfriend and John Danes daughter. The second is from Terry Hutchinson one of the best sailors in the USA. The third is from my daughter.

Hello,

I just wanted to let you know that we are all behind you. You and Phil are in my thoughts and prayers. Go out there, yall’ve worked hard enough to have a gold in the bag, have fun, sail hard and know we’re all pulling for you. Thanks for representing us. You are getting to live out a dream, I know many people, my dad included, who would have done anything to accomplish what you are blessed to get to wake up and do. SOOOO don’t stress. You have already accomplished way more than many will ever even think about, much less actually do. So HAVE FUN, THE TWO OF YOU DESERVE IT!!! While this is your job, I’m sure you started this because of your true love for the water, sailing and the sport as a whole. No matter what happens keep that in the back of your mind. Sail for yourself, your family, Phil, and the rest of us here waiving the “red, white, and blue” FOR YOU!!! Always,

Sally Dane

PS thanks for sending Austin back … that was a long month!

Paul, It is not the size of the dog in the fight it is the size of the fight in the dog…..

THutch

hey dad we made it home safely and i made it through my first 2 days of school and i managed to only get lost once but it was a pretty bad one i went into a junior english class instead of a freshman and i have to tell u that the juniors aren’t very nice to the freshman. oh well. I’ve been praying in religion for you and hoping that you will win and if not i hope that u will do your best and that’s all that i ask for, you have your gold medal brownies, your horse shoe, your bamboo, and your skill and determination to get you where you want to go. i love you with all my heart and soul i hope that you are happy with what you will accomplish. i better be getting to bed now im quite tired, ill talk to you tomorrow. LOVE YOU!!!! xoxoxoxoxox…. allie PS.good luck!!!! :)

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Olympic Games Race Day

We had a very good day today. We wont the first race of the Olympics in the Star class. Then we got a 6th and we lead the fleet. That’s just the first day…long way to go.

The day started off slowly. We were postponed ashore so that the Ynglings and Finns, who race on our course, could finish off their series. We left the harbor at 13:30 and did not start the first race until 14:45. The wind was light all day today 6-9 knots. It was a condition where you needed to power the boat up as much as possible which we did.

We had very good speed today and we sailed well to go with it. The first race we led at every mark. At times we stretched a bit and at times the fleet closed on us. Never really threatened to loose the lead. The Danish were in second most of the race but on the last windward leg the wind shifted 25 degrees to the left and they got passed by the Spanish and British.

In the second race, we had a bad start…gun shy… So we tacked shortly after. The left had been the way to go and everyone was fighting for that. We one the first race by going left. But we did not have a lane to go left so we just sailed out until we did find a nice clear spot and tacked onto starboard and we were in decent shape. In fact, the right was good on this windward leg, the only time all day. Freddy Loof (SWE) led at the first mark after struggling in the first race with a 15th. We got up to the mark in about 5th but approaching on port there was no hole for us to tack onto starboard. We bore away and almost ran downwind on port ducking 7 boats!!. We rounded 13th.

Freddy got flagged for a rule 42 violation (rocking or pumping) on the first run, and had to do a 720 degree penalty turn. So the Greeks took over the lead at that point. Meanwhile we had clawed back to 10th. Up the second beat we went left and gained and continued to pick off a boat per leg to finish 6th. The Swiss won the second race.

Quickly the results which are pretty meaningless at this point: 1) USA 7, 2) BRA 9, 3) SUI 11, 4) GBR 11, 5) FRA 12, 6) ESP 15 7)DEN 16 8) AUS 16 . That’s all I have. You can check the results on the ISAF web page www.sailing.org.

We were selected for a random check by the measurement committee after racing so we had to go into a special area for that which delayed us a bit. We got done at 2000 and went to the medal ceremony for our 470 men, Paul Forester and Kevin Burnham who won gold today. That was fantastic.

We had a quick dinner and are trying to hit the sack. It has been a very long but good day.

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Olympic Games

A day that left me with the right feeling for tomorrow. We had the practice race today and we found out when we got to the windward mark that we had been OCS with a couple of others. But that did not bother me as we had just sailed one of our best light air windward legs ever. The left was favored because of a 20 degree shift that way but we managed to come out of the middle-right and round second.

It was blowing 3-4 knots when the committee gave us the start. The crews were hiking to leeward. We had done a complete rig check this morning and I made a couple of subtle adjustments there that I felt good about. Then out on the water, I made another change for the extremely light air which seemed to work well. It wasn’t a new discovery as we had done it before, but it was nice to make the adjustment with confidence and then see it work.

So when we got to the windward make in second place I was very happy with the big picture.

As it was so light about a third of the fleet quit the race at that point anyway and most quit after the second windward leg opting for getting out of the heat before the battle starts. It did make me think about how bad an OCS would feel in a real race, so it was a good reminder.

We got a tow from the Canadian Coach, a great Star sailor in his own right, Mark Pickle of Germany. Good sportsmanship is still a hallmark of the Star Class. Once ashore, I fulfilled a few press requests, (good to get out of the way early), and then went to see Scott Weiss, USOC trainer, for a bit of therapy on my elbow and now home making my notes and resting.

My thoughts on the eve of my first Olympics; I am honored to be representing my country, I am personally very happy to have the opportunity to race for a gold medal, and it has been a fantastic journey back to my roots…where I developed the talent that has given me a great career in the sport of sailing. Some of us have well known names in the sport of sailing but that doesn’t mean were are still the best sailors. I am checking in to find out where I rank amongst the best. Could be humbling, could be exhilarating. No matter what, the journey has been fantastic.

Thanks for your interest in what Phil and I are doing.

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Olympic Games

Getting closer to the start…2 days to go. I am trying to shake a sore throat and slept a little extra today. Phil got the spares organized to go in the coach boat for tomorrow and every day that we race.

We tinkered on the spare mast and put it away fully rigged and ready to go. Unlike the trials, we are not allowed to have our spare mast out on the water. So breaking the rig will be very costly. We are not going to do that this regatta.

We went out sailing at at 1600 for 1.5 hours with Ross MacDannald. Just a little speed test and workout to keep the legs in shape and back to the dock.

The Greek Women 470 sailors clinched the gold today so there was a big to do in the harbor when they came in. Our girls won the second race of the day in the 470 so we were all proud of that. Our men 470 sailors, Paul Forester/Kevin Burnham have clinched silver and are currently leading by 2 points over the british. That will be a battle on Saturday for the gold. Our Yngling girls had a very good day with another first and a 7th I believe.

I have not seen official results but think Ben Ainslee (GBR) Finn is close to clinching and so is GBR in the Yngling.

Practice race tomorrow at 1400 for us.

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Olympic Games

Got an early start today; no gym and 0900 at the venue. Got the boat on the hoist before anyone else was around and got some final sanding done on the keel. Looks pretty good now.

Then we put the stickers on our second mainsail. That is a 2.5 hours job for both Phil and I. We had lunch and went sailing around 1400 with Loof, Bruni and Leo and George, the Greek team. The wind was about 10-12 knots today from 160-165. Pretty normal seabreeze conditions. Tony Rey, the Yngling coach came by after the Yngling race had finished and got some photos of our rig for us. It is very helpful to be able to check the rig laterally, with printed pictures. We had a good session and came in at 1700 and took the rig down to check everything. Everything was were it was supposed to be so we put it back up.

I am on my way to the NBC studio right now to do some comentary with Gary Jobson on today’s racing which you will see in a few hours on Bravo…0:00 EDT and 2100 PDT.

Tomorrow we are not going to the gym, just some stretching and getting down to the boat early again. We need to get our spares all organized and put our spare rig away. Other than that, we are ready to roll.

Today the US Yngling had awesome speed in the light air of the first race and won. We watched them on TV from the dining hall and it was beautiful the way they just cruised out in the front of the fleet on the first windward leg. Unfortunately, they did not fair so well in the second race. In both races, the left was very good.

I think the best performers on team USA at the moment are the men’s 470, Paul Forester and Kevin Burnham. They had a good day and are solidly in second and close to the leaders which are the Brit’s. I think Mark Mendleblatt, (Laser USA) is in 5th over all and our 49er sailors were in 5th overall beofre the last race when they had an OCS (0ver the start line early). That is unfortuante.

Finally, I did bring a batch of the “gold medal” brownies down to the venue to day and gave them to our team mates after the racing.

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Olympic Games

We had a good day today. Started at the gym as usual, then I took my family to the airport. I got back to the boat at 1230 and we launched and went for a sail. Unfortunately the wind (left over Meltemi -of sorts) was in the process of dying so we came in, ate some lunch, sanded the keel a bit and then launched again.

We sailed for two hours with Ross MacDonnald (CAN), Colin Beahsal (AUS) and Francesco Bruni (ITA). It was 7-10 knots, trying to fill in as a seabreeze but was not real steady. We were going pretty well but I would say CAN was going slightly better. We have our race rig in now so we are in the final preparations for Saturday.

We came in and Carl Eichenlob painted some more gel coat on our keel. We are still perfecting the keel after we had to add 2 mm to it for measurement.

I got back to my apartment, empty now (I can find my own clothes), and made dinner and I am enjoying the Olympics on TV. The luck is that Eurosport here is in English….British actually. So I am getting a tainted version of the commentary but it is still very compelling to watch.

Tomorrow we will sail with Freddy Loof (SWE) on a 1030 dock out.

We are fortunate not to be racing this week. It has been tough on the other classes. Many are behind in the schedule now and the races that were held today were very shaky due to the Meltemi dying and the seabreeze trying to fill. Big shift and even bigger holes in the wind.

I am not sure what Saturday and beyond has in store for us so I am still planning on dealing with everything and anything.

My wife’s last deed was to make four batches of “gold medal brownies” which I have in my freezer, ready to be rationed over the duration of the races. Thanks Honey! What am I going to do when my excuse to eat everything in site goes away?

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