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470 Olympic Trials
Yesterday's forecast was mostly correct, except for the velocity part. Today's forecast, similar to yesterday's, suffered from the same flaw. It was pretty light out of the northeast as the fleet sailed to the race area. It was obvious that "steady" wasn't going to be part of the description of the day's conditions. Both velocity and direction were unstable, but the averages didn't change much all day. Basically, it was light and shifty. The RC, in an effort to improve traffic flow on the race course, decided to sail both 470 fleets on the outer loop. The men were up first. Foerster/Burnham started on port with Dabney/Schmidt following them right. Dabney/Schmidt lead at the top, only to be overtaken on the run by Foerster/Burnham as the wind dropped to very low levels. Anderson/Biehl were very quick on the second beat and moved into second, which they held to the finish with Dabney/Schmidt third. Hunt/Russell and Ivey/Cromwell were still trying to get on track and finished 4th and 5th respectively. The women had an even start with Clark/Mergenthaler and McDowell/Kinsolving going right almost immediately while Maxwell/Morgan continued left. Within a minute there was a right shift with pressure that defined the rest of the beat. McDowell/Kinsolving rounded first with Clark/Mergenthaler and Jolly/Reischmann close astern. The breeze really collapsed on the first run. Jolly/Reischmann found an extra gust to move briefly into first at the bottom, but McDowell/Kinsolving soon re-established their lead which they held to the finish, with Clark/Mergenthaler second and Jolly/Reischmann third. Fortunately, the breeze recovered a bit between races and probably got all the way to 6 knots a few times. It was still very light. The men were first away again with Foerster/Burnham at the pin and Hunt/Russell immediately on port from the boat. Most of the fleet was on port within a minute. Hunt/Russell looked very good for a while, but missed an opportunity to consolidate. Meanwhile Chad Coberly and Dave Johnson, sailing their first major 470 event, worked the shifts up the middle and got to the mark first with Foerster/Burnham hot on their heels. Hunt/Russell died on the far right and rounded 8th! Foerster/Burnham moved into the lead on the reach and extended from there for their third win. Anderson/Biehl continued to be very fast upwind and moved into second from mid fleet to capture their third second. Ivey/Cromwell were third. The pattern for the day was oscillating, but with generally more pressure on the right. Shortly after the start of race two the women's fleet was heading right with McDowell/Kinsolving looking good right away. Maxwell/Morgan cleared to the left, and paid dearly for their move, rounding last with McDowell/Kinsolving leading followed by Clark/Mergenthaler and Molly Carapiet and Whitney Besse, a team that will be heard from in the future. These positions remained unchanged to the finish with Maxwell/Morgan recovering to 4th. After
three races the leaders have unblemished records, but it is still early.
Everyone is hoping for a change in the conditions, but the weatherman
isn't making any promises. Tomorrow looks very similar to today, but we
have all heard that before. Rollin "Skip" Whyte 11/09/03
What a Difference a Day Makes! Perfect wind returned to Houston and powered three excellent races for all classes. The SE breezes that everyone had trained in for the weeks before the trials returned with near carbon copy velocities of those experience in training. No one had an excuse for being unprepared for today's racing and it showed. Boat speeds were very close and the boat handling was exceptional. And now for the results! Both fleets sailed outer loops today. Ladies first, even though they started second. The ladies had an even start in 8+ knots of wind and still flat water. Allison Jolly and Susie Reischmann grabbed the lead half way up the beat with everyone else close astern. They managed to extend slightly approaching the weather mark as traffic slowed the pack. McDowell/Kinsolving rounded second with Maxwell/Morgan third and Clark/Mergenthaler fourth. Jolly/Reischmann held their lead for the next two legs with Maxwell/Morgan moving to second and McDowell/Kinsolving slipping to fourth, but it was all very close. Courtenay Dey and Linda Wennerstrom were beginning to find their pace and closed on the leaders on the second beat. The whole race was on the line starting the final run. Jolly/Reischmann still lead, but Maxwell/Morgan were close, but so were the rest. Approaching the leeward mark Maxwell/Morgan got an overlap with Clark/Mergenthaler and McDowell/Kinsolving also overlapped just a length behind. Dey/Wennerstrom were another length or two back looking for opportunities. It was VERY CLOSE! Jolly/Reischmann suffered badly at the rounding, getting pinned slightly outside of Maxwell/Morgan, opening the passing lane for Clark/Mergenthaler. McDowell/Kinsolving and Dey/Wennerstrom were on the same train and moved past Jolly/Reischmann who could only watch in frustration as their race long lead converted to a fifth in the closing minutes. The breeze was built slightly for race two letting the crews get fully extended. It was a close and even start again with Clark/Mergenthaler just a touch faster. They moved into a nice lead at the first mark with Maxwell/Morgan and McDowell/Kinsolving close behind. These positions held for the next lap with Maxwell/Morgan closing a bit. On the second run Maxwell/Morgan pulled into an outside overlap approaching the last mark, creating a double jibe situation for Clark/Mergenthaler. McDowell/Kinsolving closed as the leaders jockeyed for position and were poised to attack. All three teams handled their situations beautifully. Clark/Mergenthaler pulled off the double jibe and held inside. Maxwell/Morgan attacked with precision and only a perfect defense would hold them back. Meanwhile McDowell/Kinsolving attacked on the low road to the finish and nearly pulled through, but the first two teams abandoned their battle just in time to close the low passing lane. All three boats finished in 6 seconds! The fans went wild. After catching our collective breath we were into sequence for the third race of the day on an O2 course. Conditions were pretty stable around 9 knots, but there were some tricky shifts. Clark/Mergenthaler had a perfect start at the boat and moved into a controlling position over the majority of the fleet going left. Rookies Molly Carapiet and Whitney Besse were playing the right and right was right! They lead at the top over Clark/Mergenthaler with McDowell/Kinsolving third and Maxwell/Morgan fifth, recovering nicely from a 720 after a port/starboard miscue with Dey/Wennerstrom. The rookies' downwind technique is still in the developing stages and they couldn't hold back the polished teams. Clark/Mergenthaler lead at the bottom and extended from there for their second win of the day. McDowell/Kinsolving held second in similar fashion while Maxwell/Morgan moved from 4th to 3rd on the second lap. There was plenty of battle for every position with contested overlaps at every leeward mark. At the end of the day Clark/Mergenthaler, with a 2,1,1 moved to even points with McDowell/Kinsolving with Maxwell/Morgan moving to third, 4 points back. Dey/Wennerstrom are a somewhat distant ten points further back. With a lay day tomorrow and a forecast for much stronger breeze on Thursday, it will be difficult for the teams to truly relax. It has been a very long time since we have seen wind over 12 knots, so there is plenty of uncertainty about what might happen if it blows 15-20 as forecast. Now for the men. The men's starting line is considerably more crowded with two more boats. Sounds strange but it is true. Dabney/Schmidt were caught sleeping above the line and were late for the start, but everyone else was pushing hard. The individual recall went up, but no one returned. Foerster/Burnham quickly established a solid lead and went on to a convincing win despite a near capsize when the mainsheet left the cleat sending Burnham into the drink. Anderson/Biehl continued to impress and grabbed their fourth consecutive second. Tom Hall and Jon Farrar had their best race of the series with a third. Ivey/Cromwell and Hunt/Russell were still trying to get on track. McNay/Kinsolving and Coberly/Johnson were OCS. The second race featured a bit more wind at the start. Foerster/Burnham and Ivey/Cromwell were both looking good shortly after the start when Foerster/Burnham pulled up lame with a broken jib head line which force them to drop the jib, putting them in deep last place. Ivey/Cromwell jumped on the opportunity and went on to a solid win with McNay/Kinsolving second and Dabney/Schmidt third. Anderson/Biehl were out of phase for the entire race and finished 6th. Ivey/Cromwell were perfect at the start of race three and had a nice lead at the top with Foerster/Burnham second. Ivey/Cromwell allowed Foerster/Burnham and others escape to the left on the second beat an paid for the mistake, dropping to fourth at the top with McNay/Kinsolving and Anderson/Biehl second and third. Foerster/Burnham extended to a huge lead with a terrific battle for second raging to the finish. McNay/Kinsolving and Anderson/Biehl were in hand to hand combat with Ivey/Cromwell trailing and looking for an opening. They found it and moved into second with Anderson/Biehl winning the wrestling match for third. Going into the lay day Foerster/Burnham are in command counting all firsts after a discard. Anderson/Biehl are next 6 points back with Ivey/Cromwell another four back. Foerster/Burnham seem ready to accept all challenges and any team hoping to challenge them will need to come out with guns blazing on Thursday. Look for complete results at http://www.ussailing.org/olympics/OlympicTrials/2004/index.asp Rollin "Skip" Whyte
The promised cold front passed over Houston Yacht Club a few hours before race time bringing beautiful wind from the Northeast. For the first time in recent memory the sailors were looking at lots of whitecaps. There were some early gusts to 20 knots, but the real breeze was in the 13-17 knot range. Just perfect! Today both 470 fleets sailed Inner Loop courses with an extra lap. That translates into three beats, three runs and two reaches. The women started first in a left phase with McDowell/Kinsolving closest to the boat. They tacked immediately into the port lift followed by Clark/Mergenthaler about a minute later. The Dey/Wennerstrom team were psyched for breeze and won the left end, but didn't clear the anchor rode of the pin boat and suddenly found their rudder airborne as the rudder hold down line failed, sending them downwind towards the photo boat. After a quick, but imperfect fix they began chasing the fleet. Meanwhile McDowell/Kinsolving sailed into a beautiful right shift, tacked and assumed a big early lead that they built upon for the remainder of the race with great timing through the many shifts and excellent downwind work. Dey/Wennerstrom were inspired and rallied to second at the weather mark, but Clark/Mergenthaler and Maxwell/Morgan were right there. Positions changed several times over the next laps but on the third beat Maxwell/Morgan chose right with Dey/Wennerstrom left and right was right. Maxwell/Morgan went on to get the second with Clark/Mergenthaler third after a see-saw battle with Dey/Wennerstrom on over the final reach-run-reach. At the start of the second race McDowell/Kinsolving, somewhat unintentionally, pulled off an unusual port tack start at the right end of the line. It took several tacks to clear the committee boat, but they were first right and once again found a nice rightie to assume an early lead. Dey/Wennerstrom, with a normal rudder this time, were trucking and moved into the lead at the top with Maxwell/Morgan third. At the set Dey/Wennerstrom found themselves with a runaway clew on their spinnaker and had to drop to re-rig, dropping them to third. The top three remained close for the next lap with McDowell/Kinsolving retaining and slightly building their lead and went on to the win. Dey/Wennerstrom moved back into second and held off Maxwell/Morgan to the finish. At the end of the day McDowell/Kinsolving had moved out of their tie with with Clark/Mergenthaler to a 4 point lead with Maxwell/Morgan now 7 out of first. Three races are scheduled tomorrow and the flag is still whipping, so everyone is hoping for more excellent racing tomorrow. Paul Foerster, still commuting daily from Dallas, was a bit late today. Upon arrival he did his best Superman impersonation, miraculously changing in seconds as he moved from parking lot to launching ramp, and was first on the water again. As usual, and despite a pre race gear failure that required a return to the harbor, the Foerster/Burnham team was ready for action when the gun went off. Ivey/Cromwell, following an impressive 1,2 in the previous 2 races, aced the start for an early lead, but Foerster/Burnham were not to be denied. They lead at the top and went on to a huge win with Ivey/Cromwell second again. McNay/Kinsolving, sailing better every day, were a solid third with Anderson/Biehl 7th after a capsize. Ivey/Cromwell and Anderson/Biehl both had excellent starts in race two and continued left with Foerster/Burnham on their hip. Dabney/Schmidt cleared right and got another of those early righties to assume a nice lead at the top with Foerster/Burnham in a pack with McNay/Kinsolving and Ivey/Cromwell. Dabney/Schmidt extended on the run using some aggressive kinetics and sailing hotter angles to attack the short chop. Foerster/Burnham moved into second at the bottom and began hunting Dabney/Schmidt. They finally got by on the second run, but Dabney/Schmidt challenged them on the third beat and nearly broke through before missing a small shift at the top of the third beat. After that Foerster/Burnham were gone. McNay/Kinsolving were solid again in third with Ivey/Cromwell falling out of phase and dropping to 7th. After 8 races Foerster/Burnham retain an unblemished record with a discard while consistency eludes the rest of the fleet. Ivey/Cromwell, looking very good before the 7th in the last race, are second, but 15 points out of first. Anderson/Biehl are one point further back with McNay/Kinsolving another 5 back. Any team hoping to challenge Foerster/Burnham will need a very big day tomorrow. Stay tuned! For complete results and lots of cool photos, go here. Rollin "Skip" Whyte
Foerster/Burnham Seal the Deal Hello Race Fans, Headlines are unusual in this space, but certainly deserved today. Paul Foerster and Kevin Burnham made the inevitable a reality with a 1,2 in the first two races today, winning with ease with three races to go and eating a next to last due to a breakdown. It is difficult to to put their total domination of this event into proper perspective. They were only truly beaten once, in their final race, when Steve Hunt and Eben Russell sailed a near perfect race after a dominant start. Paul and Kevin have proven to all that they are the team to represent the USA in Athens next August. The action in the women's fleet was anything but conclusive, but more about that later. Now for some details on today's action. It was very light, warm, and humid as the fleet headed out to the Red Bluff course area for three scheduled races. The forecast called for unsettled weather with moderate velocity. Both proved to be accurate, particularly the unsettled part. The men started first on an O2 course in about 7 knots of shifty wind. Foerster/Burnham were in control early and went on to the win. Hunt/Russell, following their strong performance yesterday, were a solid second until they couldn't drop their spinnaker at the end of the first run, dropping them to last. The Hall/Farrar team took the second for their best finish of the series with McNay/Cromwell third. The first race was very shifty with all of the instability in the atmosphere and the second was no different. Hunt/Russell won the start with Foerster/Burnham stuck in the pack. These two teams split left and got the big shift of the leg to round 1,2 where they remained for the rest of the race. It was a great win for Hunt/Russell and good enough for Foerster/Burnham to close out the series. Anderson/Biehl were third, moving them back into second in the series. Meanwhile, on the women's course, anything and everything was happening. McDowell/Kinsolving and Clark/Mergenthaler were sparring at the start, but nothing too serious. Maxwell/Morgan won the boat and immediately headed right. McDowell/Kinsolving rolled Clark/Mergenthaler, forcing them to tack, then covered forcing Clark/Mergenthaler to tack again. Clark/Mergenthaler soon got a nice left shift with pressure and were in a controlling position and the early lead. The series leaders were clearly preoccupied with one another, leaving the rest to sail their own races. Jolly/Reischmann looked bad early, but found their way to the right and found the dominant shift of the leg. They rounded first at the top with Clark/Mergenthaler 3rd and McDowell/Kinsolving 5th. These two moved to second and third at the bottom with Jolly/Reischmann still leading. Maxwell/Morgan were deep. After many shifts up the second beat Maxwell/Morgan moved into second and were closing on Jolly/Reischmann. Clark/Mergenthaler, in 4th, were just ahead of McDowell/Kinsolving. On the run Maxwell/Morgan took the lead and then the win with the leaders still in 4th and 5th. With drops figured, McDowell/Kinsolving actually gained a point. At the start of the second race Maxwell/Morgan won the boat and headed right with Clark/Mergenthaler forced right and trailing. After many shifts up the beat Maxwell/Morgan lead big with the leaders deep again. It looked like Maxwell/Morgan might have a chance to get back into the series. On the run, Maxwell/Morgan parked in the center of the run, dropping to fourth, and last became first with Jolly/Reischmann taking the lead. The series leaders were trailing the pack. Rain showers were appearing all around the course on the second beat and the wind was becoming even less stable. Jolly/Reischmann maintained control and finally held a lead to the finish after losing leads late twice. Maxwell/Morgan moved back up to second with McDowell/Kinsolving fourth and Clark/Mergenthaler fifth! Maxwell/Morgan were edging closer and the leaders were looking a bit shaky. The men were first away for the third race. There was a large rain cell to the right and an associated right shift with velocity that everyone could see before the start. The men sprinted right off the line and the women's sequence began three minutes later. The men sailed into the big right shift while the women were still in sequence. At the start everyone was eager to get onto port and pushing the line hard for an opportunity to tack early. Maxwell/Morgan were off clean at the boat and tacked immediately as the X flag went up signaling an individual recall. Clark/Mergenthaler and McDowell/Kinsolving both returned putting them in the rear with break away potential for Maxwell/Morgan. The right shift filled and intensified with McDowell/Kinsolving furthest left and looking pretty bad. Visibility went to hell as the rain swept across the course and the leaders all overstood. McDowell/Kinsolving, looking desperately deep, tacked back to starboard first and fetched the mark with Maxwell/Morgan hopelessly overstood. Dey/Wennerstrom got there first, McDowell/Kinsolving second and Clark/Mergenthaler third. The right shift got so big that some of the teams set spinnakers on the layline to the weather mark. The top reach somehow returned to a somewhat normal sailing angle, then all hell broke loose on the run. The rain was torrential with zero visibility, alternate strong gusts and calms. The leeward mark was invisible until the rain mercifully let up. The order was unchanged with Dey/Wennerstrom extending, but the rest of the fleet compressed. Several rapid fire, 40 degree shifts landed at the leeward mark as the majority of the fleet rounded. Moments later visibility went to zero again with torrential rain. The mark had been shifted 30 degrees and the men's fleet should have been visible to lead them to the mark, but they were nowhere to be seen. Amazingly, the fleet arrived at the weather mark, no visible after the rain, in almost the same order. Clark/Mergenthaler were second a few lengths ahead of McDowell/Kinsolving with the next boat far back. The breeze was now very light and almost steady for the balance of the race. McDowell/Kinsolving had a little extra and gradually began closing on Clark/Mergenthaler. They made the passing move shortly before the leeward mark and went on to the second with Clark/Mergenthaler third. Maxwell/Morgan never recovered from overstanding the weather mark and finished last. At the end of the very tumultuous day McDowell/Kinsolving had extended their lead to five points over Clark/Mergenthaler. Two races are scheduled for tomorrow. Clark/Mergenthaler will need a big day and some cooperation to pull it off, but after today's fireworks, anything seems possible. Rollin "Skip" Whyte McDowell / Kinsolving Bound For Athens Hello Race Fans, Apologies for the late report, but the boat hauling, packing up, conferences with the winners, container loading, and flight back home from Houston have devoured every hour. Almost everything seemed in doubt after the first two races on Day 7 of the Women's 470 Trials. The leaders were struggling in the back of the fleet for most of the races while Maxwell/Morgan were mounting a new challenge. However, thanks to the favorable outcome of a very wild race 14, McDowell/Kinsolving went into Day 8 with a very powerful 5 point lead. Clark/Mergenthaler would need two wins to pull off an upset, plus some cooperation from McDowell/Kinsolving. The conditions were near optimum: 8-10 knots with some small gusts, moderate chop. The ladies were first up and had an even start after minimal pre race jockeying. McDowell/Kinsolving had one of their best starts at the pin. Clark/Mergenthaler were in the middle and were not able to hold their lane. A few minutes later McDowell/Kinsolving were able to put a close cover on Clark/Mergenthaler, who had recovered to second. The cover was effective, putting McDowell/Kinsolving into first at the top with Clark/Mergenthaler in 4th. The leaders extended with Clark/Mergenthaler moving into second again at the end of the first run. No positions changed for the balance of the race and it was all over at the finish. Katie McDowell and Isabelle Kinsolving had reached an essential milestone along their road to an Olympic medal, they had won the Olympic Trials on their first attempt, a feat rarely achieved. Although the winners of the Men's Trials were known, the battle for second was far from decided. Mikee Anderson and Graham Biehl held a 4 point lead over Hunt/Russell and 5 over both Ivey/Cromwell and McNay/Kinsolving. Second through fifth in the event would be decided on day 8 with each team capable of finishing second or fifth. In the first race McNay/Kinsolving held a small lead at the top with Anderson/Biehl 4th. On the second beat Hunt/Russell, sitting fifth in the race, gambled on the left and were left behind by a huge margin. Anderson/Biehl were next furthest left and were second last at the top with McNay/Kinsolving extending their lead. McNay/Kinsolving went on to the win with Ivey/Cromwell second, Anderson/Biehl just recovering to 4th, and Hunt/Russell 6th. Going into the final race all but Hunt/Russell were still in the hunt for second. In race 16 Hunt/Russell jumped into an early lead just ahead of Ivey/Cromwell. McNay/Kinsolving were back in fifth with Anderson/Biehl bouncing around between 3rd and 4th. If Ivey/Cromwell could put 2 boats between themselves and Anderson/Biehl, second would be theirs. Hunt/Russell were fast and extended slightly over Ivey/Cromwell and went on to the win with Ivey/Cromwell sitting second and hoping that McNay/Kinsolving would pass Anderson/Biehl. Part way up the second beat McNay/Anderson crossed ahead, but Anderson/Biehl soon found nice pressure in the middle and moved back into 4th where they remained to the finish to secure second overall. It was a great finish to a superb series. The battle for second was a testimony to the great effort put forth by all of the contending teams. They were all very well prepared and sailing at career best levels. The quality of their effort further magnifies the total dominance of Paul Foerster and Kevin Burnham in this series. The Foerster/Burnham team will be a prime contender for a medal in Athens. Both Paul and Kevin already have Silver Medals and this time they are more focused on Gold than ever before. Look out world, here they come! The ladies final race was the antithesis of the men's final race. All of the series positions were set in stone after race 15, prompting a call for a crew race. Three of the five remaining teams (McDowell/Kinsolving were already celebrating) decided to make the switch, with Clark/Mergenthaler and Dey/Wennerstrom preferring to have one last go in normal mode. Clark/Mergenthaler took the early lead and extended, but the battle for second was intense. Half way up the beat all four teams were essentially even. Morgan/Maxwell, both former skippers at Dartmouth, were second at the top, but the hard part lay ahead for all of the switching teams. All of those maneuvers practiced countless times leave both skipper and crew with cognitive knowledge of the other's job, but no muscle memory. Morgan/Maxwell didn't miss a beat, leaving many to suspect that they have been switching on the sly for months, just waiting for this chance. They managed to hold off Dey/Wennerstrom for a well deserved second. The Olympic Trials are now history and the United States has two superbly qualified teams bound for Games of the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens. Much hard work lies ahead, but these two teams will be ready to contend for a podium position next August. As well prepared as they were for the Olympic Trials, both know that they will need to raise their bar considerably if they are to achieve their goal. Now it is time to rest, but the planning has already begun. Their boats are already in a container heading for Europe. The Athens Eurolym Regatta at the end of February will be their first competition in 2004, but there will certainly be some training before then. But for now, it is time to savor their very well deserved victories. Rollin "Skip" Whyte |
