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The Pre-Pre Olympic
Regatta, Day 2, 3, 4,
5, Final
The day broke sunny and calm, with big cumulus clouds rising up over the city. Forecasts were for WSW winds shifting south as the day went on, with wind speeds building into the low teens. Since all the classes are scheduled to have two lay days during the test event, the Ynglings had course D all to themselves. After having sailed a trapezoid course in the practice race, we were all quite happy to see the standard windward/leeward posted for our course for the day. Race one started in a light WSW breeze, mostly characterized by small oscillating shifts. Sometimes all three of us were able to sit on the rail, but most of the time Suzy was crouched inside the boat reacting to small changes in velocity. We came off the line with good speed and height, crossing tacks with about 5 other boats in the fleet. At the top mark, we rounded about 25 yd behind ESP 1, and just ahead of Nadine Stegenwalner from Germany and Hannah Swett from the USA. We did a nice job at the bottom of the run and closed with the Spanish, while holding off the other two. On the second beat, we were dialed into the breeze, and ground down the Spanish team. Lee and Suzy did a great job of picking the shifts and pressure as we tacked on the Spanish to round first. Our speed was excellent on the run. Team Challenge US extended the lead to take the gun. After finding our local coach, rehydrating and getting the boat sorted, we checked the board on the back of the RC boat to see who had been snagged for over early. Much to our dismay, we found our number 14 posted on the board. We decided to attempt to file for redress, as the pin boat after the prep signal, had let out anchor line and changed the line itself. More on that later in the report.
Our coach for the day, Manolis (a local gent who is coaching the Finn sailors for the USA), suggested that the breeze should trend left in our second race. With our race one OCS still fresh in our minds, we let ourselves be influenced a bit too much by the forecasts, and leveraged ourselves a bit too much to the left, as the right side of the course came in big. It was a bit frustrating since there were definite signs of the left breeze coming, just not soon enough. We sailed our best playing catch up, and by the second run, we had closed the gap on the pack in front, and had there been another lap, we would have had a great opportunity to pass up to 6-8 boats. Unfortunately, we ran out of course and finished 16. Betsy went into the protest room against the RC, where it was definitely our word against that of the RC. Pretty sure that the jury did believe our story, but couldn’t figure out a way to give us redress without doing something for the other 7 boats that were OCS. It certainly is a story that is impossible to make up out of the blue – at least not for us. So, once again, it was unfortunate for us that our request was denied, so at the end of Day 1, we have an OCS and 16in our column. We are confident in our boat speed and boat handling. Our spirits are high and outlook optimistic. It is a long series, 11 races, where anything can and will happen. Today we have two more races, followed by a lay day tomorrow, Sunday. Hmmmmmm, maybe we should factor church into that……………… More later, stay tuned. Betsy,
Lee and Suzy Day 2 of the Athens Test Event was interesting to say the least. The wind patterns were slightly different than the previous ones. There was a light northwesterly breeze blowing early on, not the flat Aegean waters that have characterized the early morning. By start time, it had shifted to WSW, at about 8-10 knots. Team Challenge US had a great start off the middle of the line. Though the boat end was slightly favored, we opted for less traffic and the ability to straight line speed it up the beat. Since we were sharing the race course with the 49ers, the RC sent our slow little keelboats to the outer loop of the trapezoid course. (This means that we sail a beat, starboard reach, double windward leeward on an outer WL course and finish on a port reach.) We had awesome height and speed and played the small shifts up the beat to lead by a small margin at the top, just ahead of our new German training partner, Kristin Wagner. We held the lead around the track until the top of the final beat. Unfortunately, we made a small tactical error by not covering quite as tightly as we should have then hit several big bad wave that cost us critical distance, allowing Wagner to set her spinnaker and press lower than us immediately after the windward mark. The breeze lightened slightly, and they have a slightly bigger spinnaker – it was tough to hold them off on the final run – but we finished a solid second. It was nice to see the Team in good form! Just after the finish of the race, the breeze completely shut off. Big cumulus clouds built over the land, usually an indication of an approaching sea breeze. After about an hour of waiting, the breeze started to filter in from a SSW direction with a trend toward the SE sea breeze. The RC started the race as soon as the wind reached a 170 degree course. Again, it was an outer trapezoid for the Ynglings. We had a decent start halfway down the line. We were a little gun shy on pulling the trigger, so the pack at the boat got a slight jump on us. We did a nice job of squeezing off the boats directly to windward of us, but got ping ponged back to the left several times by a few of the boats that started near the boat. Though the right came in at the end of the leg, along with a couple of boats that we sent over that way (we anticipated more left breeze as is typical for the sea breeze), we were able to round in 6th or 7th. The fleet was very compressed due to the configuration of the trapezoid. Because the RC did not move very far off shore when the breeze shifted, the outer loop was really short as the sea wall off the city front was in the way. We rounded the bottom mark in the same position, but were unable to get immediately left due to spinnaker traffic. This proved costly as we lost 3 boats on the next beat. The run was uneventful, and we rounded the leeward mark in about the same spot. A thunder head cloud was over the bottom of the course sucking out the wind, and with the confused wave state, it felt like we were in a washing machine. Well, the fleet mixed up, and we dropped to a dismal 16th in the race. With 4 races complete, we still have an uphill battle to fight. The good news is, we have only sailed 4 of 11 races, so we are not even halfway through the series. The Team is psyched, and happy to report that our boat handling is getting better and better with each day that we sail. We really look forward to doing some serious training this fall and winter season to be A-1 when the 2003 season starts. Today, we have a layday, and are off to Delphi, and then hopefully if time permits to see the Temple of Poseidon. More tomorrow…… Betsy,
After having a team meeting on Saturday, Betsy, Suzy and Lee decided to take a bold step towards maximizing their performance here in Athens – they decided to make a pilgrimage to Delphi to consult the Oracle. As did Greek kings and leaders from days of old, consulting the Oracle was “the thing to do” to boost success and secure the blessings of the gods. We thought it appropriate to make the journey on Sunday (a holy day in most religions – and it just happened to be our lay day) with our US team mates Hannah Swett and Melissa Purdy. The trip out was long, over three hours – a few missed turns and slip ups – but we finally made it to the Parnassus Mountains. We stopped in a little mountain town to have lunch – couldn’t see the Oracle hungry – and found it to be an amazingly quaint town, that was obviously geared to skiing in the winter season. A friendly Greek proprietor cooked us up an awesome meal – though it was stressful for him – he was chief, cook, bottle washer and everything in between. We arrived at Delphi to find the Temple of Apollo in ruins! It seems that sometime over the past 2000 years, the temple and its surroundings have crumbled, and been subjected to the effects of erosion. The Oracle was gone but the aura remained. It was quite an awe inspiring place. The Sacred Way, the path leading up to the Temple and treasury buildings is well preserved despite its ancient status. The fact that many civilizations have come and gone in the last 2400 years since this place was built and that the foundations and columns are still standing is incredible. Above the Temple of Apollo which housed the Oracle of Delphi stands an amphitheatre which overlooks the surrounding mountains and valleys. Apparently the Romans restored this amphitheatre which is in amazing condition today. It is easy to imagine performances being held there in the great outdoors. We followed a path further up the hill to find a stadium that was used for athletic games. It is the best preserved of the remaining ancient stadiums in Greece today. And to think that all of this was built in the 4th century BC. While atop the mountain, a massive thunder storm raised its head (someone must have really done something to upset the gods), sending a deluge of rain accompanied by thunder and lightning. There was no place to really weather the storm except for under trees or shallow rock overhangs (the ruins had no roof tops to provide shelter) so within minutes, the five of us were soaked to the bone – laughing for lack of a better option. We piled back in the car, found a coffee shop in the town of Delfi clad in an assortment of towels, bathing suit pieces and wet shorts. The trip home was uneventful, but the day was a huge success. Back at the venue, thunderstorms plagued the racers as well – and the racing for the day was cancelled. Racing on Monday will include all classes, eliminating the Monday layday for some. This morning, the breeze is cool and out of the North. It seems a bit post frontal. The sun is out again, and we are off to the races. Two are scheduled today, with the Finn sailors joining us on the race course. Well, we are back at the homestead, the Palace Hotel, after a 7 hour stretch on the water. The northerly breeze was extremely unstable today. The RC got a race off around noon in a NW breeze. We had an awesome start, only ESP 1 had a start as close as we did. After a very shifty beat (approximately 15 degrees each way), Team Challenge US led at the top mark. We were followed closely by a pack that included the Spanish, Australians, and the Brits. On a lift, Betsy made a bold decision to jibe inside and away from the pack. For most of the leg it looked great, but alas, the breeze did not filter quite far enough into the middle of the run, and what had looked to be a big gain for us, proved to be a slight loss at the bottom. The second beat on the double Windward/Leeward course got really weird – with 30-50 degree shifts and huge changes in velocity. Though we rounded mid fleet, we took a jibe towards the expected northerly change, and seemed to gain a few boats and catch up to the leaders. Over the course of the leg, the wind shifted a total of about 50 degrees to the right! The fleet compressed to the finish, and we eeked out a 9th place finish. Hannah Swett of Jamestown, RI had a super finish, and leads the series. This venue is a tricky unpredictable place, but we learn more each day. We are now 5 races into an 11 race series. 6 more to go. Stay tuned. Betsy, Lee and Suzy Sorry for the delay in writing. We have had some extraordinarily long days and some interesting things happening. Betsy suffered from a sun induced migraine and did not get to send the updates out yesterday. But do not fear... all is well today on the Athenian front. Lots of good news to report. After a "not so good" day on Tuesday where we posted a disappointing 9 – 15 in a funky northerly, we raged back on Wednesday to take a solid 3rd in Race #8. Considering we started the event in 20th place on the first day, we worked our way up to 9th with 3 races to go. Today we went out to race, even though it was a scheduled reserve day, since we were two races behind. We had a brilliant day in really nice SE wind conditions, winning for the day with a 4 – 1. We now sit in 5th only three points out of 4th, third being a bit more distant at 13 points. As we have seen, anything is possible. For those of you who want to read on, a more detailed recap of the last three days follows. Tuesday We left the dock at 10:30, not to return until close to 6:30 PM. Even though the velocity was in the low to mid teens, the RC was only able to get in 2 races. The wind was shifting through approximately 30 degrees with gusts that could pull the breeze more either right or left. You could win the start and be instantly behind. In the first race, we had a poor start, the pin was favored but we got flushed right. We dialed into the shifts right away and were able to round about 8th, behind the few boats that had worked a little to our right, but ahead of the boats that had looked great off the line that had worked the course left. As the breeze increased, it went increasingly left and made the rest of the course left side biased, not too many places changes as the runs were really almost broad reaches. We finished 9th just about where we rounded the top mark. This race marked the middle of the series.After a hour delay, the RC tried again. The breeze was low teens, but there were lulls down to about 5 and puffs up to about 15. The wind shifted from the west to the north to the northeast. The RC got a start off once, at which point we were in 1st or 2nd place just about 50 yards from the top mark when they abandoned the race. More delays. Then the RC pulled up course and moved several miles to the east towards course "A" where the tornado cats had just finished. Unfortunately, they kept us parallel to the shore and did not take us out as far as course "A". The land definitely affected the racing area. By this time, 4 PM, the wind was becoming very unstable and made it difficult to get a good start off. The RC was determined to get one in and though the first beat was decent (we rounded 3rd), the going got weird on the run with the breeze dying in the middle and filling in from different places. We did not do a particularly good job on the middle beat and suffered greatly, a dismal 15th. Wednesday The forecast was not promising. Light breeze predicted. We were scheduled to be on the same course with the 49ers, but because they were way behind in their scheduled races, the RC postponed the Ynglings on shore. This was great for us since it allowed us to stay out of the sun as long as possible. We ventured out at 2 PM, and sailed a race in a light Southerly breeze, maybe 6-7 knots. It was a double windward-leeward. The windward leg was very shifty, and an anticipated left breeze actually phased right. We rounded the top in about 6th, and kept close to the leaders. On the run we were right behind the top pack, rounded the opposite gate, and had better height and speed than most of the boats in front. Melanie Dennison from Australia hit the left corner hard, and led up the beat. We just rounded ahead of the French with the Spanish, and Dutch close behind. Going into the finish, we were overlapped with the French, with the Spanish right behind, but we mistook the pin boat of the finish line as the Committee end, jibed a little too soon, and gave away the second place finish. Hey, a third is nothing to be ashamed of! It was 6 PM, and the RC was determined to get another race in. The breeze was definitely dying but... you know how stubborn some people can be. They started the race in light (2 to 4 knot breeze), and to us, it seemed apparent that the breeze was going to follow the setting sun to the right. Game plan, go right as soon as possible. We were slightly delayed in tacking for the right, and as we figured, right came in big. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the fleet did not make the time limit for the first beat (30 minutes) and the RC finally sent us home. Thursday An anticipated layday, but such was not to be. The organizers were kind enough to delay our starting time to 3 PM, so we were able to do some sightseeing in Athens. After morning weigh in, our team along with US cohorts, Swett and Purdy, took a taxi to the Acropolis. We see the Parthenon from our race course every day, so it was really cool to be able to see it up close along with the Erechtheion. There is a lot of reconstruction work being done, so the scaffolding detracts from the natural beauty a bit, but the history is incredible. We also went down the Panathenaic Way to the Ancient Agora (market area). The ruins here were made of much more "common" materials like stone, brick, mortar and dirt, very different from the temples. After a quick lunch at an outdoor cafe in a small residential/local area, we headed back to the sailing center to play boat racing. For the first time we shifted courses out to the "C" Course where the 470s sail. It was a couple of miles directly offshore from the harbor. There was a Southerly sea breeze out of 180, forecasted to go left at some point. We sailed our first race on an outer trapezoid since the 470s were still racing. The breeze did some shifting on the first beat, with the right coming in a bit at the top of the beat. We rounded about 7 or 8 an stayed close on the reach and the run. We chose to round the opposite gate from the top pack, which allowed us to step up to the right while working back left. We seem to have really good height and speed in most conditions, particularly in the 8 -12 knot range. We picked off 3 boats on the beat and rounded 4th behind the Dutch, which we held for the remainder of the race. Most of the top players had deep finishes. In the second race, the game plan was to play middle left. We had a decent start and were able to sail our game plan effectively. We were dicing it out with one of the Russian teams and Hannah Swett of the USA. We led at the top mark on a triple windward-leeward. Swett peeled low right away, but we had to stay high to protect on the rest of the fleet. Lee and Suzy did a great job downwind flying the chute and calling breeze. We set up well for the favored gate, leading Swett into it. The left side remained favored and we extended our lead to about 20 boat lengths. We held that lead to the finish to take the bullet. It was a great feeling to know that under pressure, if we stay calm and focused on our own game plan, really good things happen. Tonight we sit in 5th place with an outside chance at 3rd. We will go out and do our very best tomorrow, knowing that we will have given it our all. We know you are with us in spirit. Thanks for all the encouragement. We really appreciate it. Chao for now. Betsy,
Lee and Suzy Greetings sports fans! The final day of racing on Friday brought light southwesterly winds to the Saronic Gulf. We were back on Course "D" for the final race of the series. The situation for us was interesting: our comeback on Wednesday and Thursday set us in 5th place. Mathematically, we could not win the event, and had an outside chance at both the silver and bronze medals provided that our competitors had poor finishes. Deficits of 18 and 13 points are tough to overcome in a 23 boat fleet. We were only 3 points behind the French. At the start, we came off the line well – our game plan to play the middle left while focusing on the small velocity puffs. It was a day to concentrate on sailing the course, not your competitors. Our team did a great job in really tough conditions, rounding the top mark 1st, followed by Hannah Swett and the top Russian team. The French were only a few boats behind. We tried to work a little too low on the first run and were passed by Swett at the leeward gate marks. We split gates with the Russians at the bottom and concentrated on working the middle left again up the beat. Both Swett and the Russians gained slightly by being just to our right on the lower part of the course and there weren’t many passing lanes to be had. At the top, the Russians rounded just ahead of Swett, with Team Challenge US in third. Since we were sailing an inner trapezoid course, we only had a reach-run-reach to the finish. Those legs proved very uneventful for us and most of the fleet. At the finish, the Russians crossed first but did not get the gun – they had been OCS. Swett won the race and secured the silver medal. We took second in the race and could only watch the points as our competitors came across the line. Melanie Dennison from Australia crossed in fourth to clinch the gold medal, followed by the French. We tied the French in points and would win the tie breaker. Only thing left was to see where Shirley Robertson from Great Britain would finish. At the top, she had been in last, and we went into the race 18 points behind her, with her toss being a 20. If we tied, we would win the tie. Unfortunately, with 2 boats being OCS and her passing several boats on the final two legs, the bronze medal slipped away from us at the last minute! We are pleased with our fourth place finish at this Pre-Olympic Test Event. We sailed extremely well under pressure, especially towards the end of the event while other teams struggled. We had a chance to sail in the Saronic Gulf waters that will be home to the 2004 Games. Some things we did particularly well: our starts and first beats were excellent – too bad the regatta couldn’t end at the first windward marks! We identified some areas we need to improve upon. As the Aussie 470 coach, Victor Kovlenko (who has helped four teams win gold in the last 2 summer Olympics) said to us last night: now is not the time to be winning medals. It is good to lose some races, and lose some events. This allows you to deeply analyze your performance, to search within to find your weaknesses as well as your strengths, and to build on them. Suzy, Lee and I are all working hard to build upon what we have as a team now. We are a team that is only 3 regattas old, but we now have some valuable experiences to draw from and a strong sense of purpose. This morning, we packed the container to ship our boat home for the fall and winter seasons, looking forward to seeing friends and family again. We went into Athens this afternoon to the old Olympic stadium. It was truly inspiring to stand within the confines of this magnificent marble stadium with the Olympic flag flying and the Acropolis in plain view, to feel the history that was made in this home of the modern Olympic Games, and to imagine what it would be like to stand here again, representing the United States in 2004. And so we say farewell to Athens, for now... Betsy Sorry for the delay in sending this report. The hotel phone system in Greece had me stymied for two days! But here goes….. Greetings sports fans! The final day of racing on Friday brought light southwesterly winds to the Saronic Gulf. We were back on Course “D” for the final race of the series. The situation for us was interesting: our comeback on Wednesday and Thursday set us in 5th place. Mathematically, we could not win the event, and had an outside chance at both the silver and bronze medals provided that our competitors had poor finishes. Deficits of 18 and 13 points are tough to overcome in a 23 boat fleet. We were only 4 points behind the French. At the start, we came off the line well – our game plan to play the middle left while focusing on the small velocity puffs. It was a day to concentrate on sailing the course, not your competitors. Our team did a great job in really tough conditions, rounding the top mark 1st, followed by Hannah Swett and the top Russian team. The French were only a few boats behind. We tried to work a little too low on the first run and were passed by Swett at the leeward gate marks. We split gates with the Russians at the bottom and concentrated on working the middle left again up the beat. Both Swett and the Russians gained slightly by being just to our right on the lower part of the course and there weren’t many passing lanes to be had. At the top, the Russians rounded just ahead of Swett, with Team Challenge US in third. Since we were sailing an inner trapezoid course, we only had a reach-run-reach to the finish. Those legs proved very uneventful for us and most of the fleet. At the finish, the Russians crossed first but did not get the gun – they had been OCS. Swett won the race and secured the silver medal. We took second in the race and could only watch the points as our competitors came across the line. Melanie Dennison from Australia crossed in fourth to clinch the gold medal, followed by the French. We tied the French in points and would win the tie breaker. Only thing left was to see where Shirley Robertson from Great Britain would finish. At the top, she had been in last, and we went into the race 18 points behind her, with her toss being a 20. If we tied, we would win the tie. Unfortunately, with 2 boats being OCS and her passing several boats on the final two legs, the bronze medal slipped away from us at the last minute! We are pleased with our fourth place finish at this Pre-Olympic Test Event. We sailed extremely well under pressure, especially towards the end of the event while other teams struggled. We had a chance to sail in the Saronic Gulf waters that will be home to the 2004 Games. Some things we did particularly well: our starts and first beats were excellent – too bad the regatta couldn’t end at the first windward marks! We identified some areas we need to improve upon. As the Aussie 470 coach, Victor Kovlenko (who has helped four teams win gold in the last 2 summer Olympics) said to us last night: now is not the time to be winning medals. It is good to lose some races, and lose some events. This allows you to deeply analyze your performance, to search within to find your weaknesses as well as your strengths, and to build on them. Suzy, Lee and I are all working hard to build upon what we have as a team now. We are a team that is only 3 regattas old, but we now have some valuable experiences to draw from and a strong sense of purpose. This morning, we packed the container to ship our boat home for the fall and winter seasons, looking forward to seeing friends and family again. We went into Athens this afternoon to the old Olympic stadium. It was truly inspiring to stand within the confines of this magnificent marble stadium with the Olympic flag flying and the Acropolis in plain view, to feel the history that was made in this home of the modern Olympic Games, and to imagine what it would be like to stand here again, representing the United States in 2004. And so we say farewell to Athens, for now………. Betsy |
