Sailing Week in Review

by Lynn Fitzpatrick on 2 Jun 2007 Stars, AC Stars, College Sailing Stars and Looking Forward to the Summer

As a North American, you may have disappointed with BMW/Oracle’s performance in Valencia. Put it behind you and find other reasons to follow the final acts of the Louis Vuitton Challenger Series. I’m tuning into it not just because of the intrigue and excitement for the day and we certainly had that today, but because I’m keeping tabs on some of the world’s most talented Star sailors.

No matter what race Torben Grael shows up at, he has one of the most colorful and decorated sailing histories there. He’s returned from the Olympics with four medals; three of them while sailing Stars and one in the Soling. Several of his Luna Rossa Challenge teammates also have made history in Star Class. They include helmsman James Spithill; afterguard members Philippe Presti, Andy Horton and Francesco Bruni; grinders Phil Trinter and Andrew Taylor, and consultant Steve Ericsson. Other Star sailors who are facing off against them on the Emirates yacht are tactician Terri Hutchinson, navigator Kevin Hall, main sail trimmer Don Cowie, and afterguard member Mark Mendelblatt.

While Grael, Horton and Mendelblatt continue to race in Valencia and it was an exciting day today with just eight seconds between Emirates Team New Zealand over Luna Rossa, they’ve been keeping an eye on sailing news out of Medemblik and Cascais, because they are registered for the 2007 ISAF World Championships in Cascais that begin at the end of June and overlap with the final match of the America’s Cup.

Why are they following racing in Holland and Portugal? Well, the medal round at the ISAF Grade 1 Holland Regatta was this weekend and it featured many of the Star class’ up and coming legends. Italy’s Diego Negri and Luigi Viale won the regatta, Poland’s Mateusz Kusnierewicz and Dominic Zycki were second and Portugal’s Alfonso Domingos and Bernardo Santos took the bronze. +39 Challenge helmsman Iain Percy and grinder Andrew Simpson, after being eliminated from the Challenger series, scurried to Medemblik and placed 9th in the 40-boat Star fleet of Olympic hopefuls.

Those Olympic aspirants who did not sail the regatta in Holland were trying to get a feel for the local conditions in Cascais, where Alfonso Domingos and Bernardo Santos are hometown favorites at the 2007 ISAF World Championships, where 75% of the country slots for the 2008 Olympics will be determined.

On this side of the Atlantic, the ICSA Women’s Nationals finished on Friday. As anticipated, powerhouse St. Mary’s won the regatta by winning A Division and placing second in B Division. Nine women were named to the ICSA Women’s All-American Team and five were awarded honorable mention. If you haven’t been watching your local juniors, you should. Allison Blecher, Evan Brown, Blaire Herron, Charlotte Hill, Emily Hill, Adrienne Patterson, Andrea Savage, Kaity Storck, Sara Morgan Watters, Taylor Grimes, Shannon Heausler, Whitney Loufek, Martha Pitt, Megan Watson, Katie Whitman are the product of growing and improving junior and high school sailing programs. As college students, they are probably teaching and training with your sons and daughters. It is highly likely that Europe, Asia and South America will be on their regatta circuits.

The ICSA Team Race and Co-ed Championships finished today with the Charleston Cougars winning the Co-ed titles.

The final roster of 2007 College Sailing All-Americans and Honorable Mentions will be named at the close of the regattas and this year’s college sailing season.

Keelboat and offshore races and series are taking place all around the country. Sailors took advantage of this three day weekend to participate in the Figawi Race, the Leukemia Cup Regattas and the Block Island Race. Registration deadlines have come or are approaching for offshore races such as the Annapolis Newport and the Marion to Bermuda races.

Memorial Day Weekend is not over and the final statistics are not in, but you can be sure that there were some serious accidents on the water during the unofficial start of the summer boating season. Before you leave the dock, go through your safety drills and checks, no matter how experienced you and your crew are. While all of us love a reason to sail, it is with bitter sweetness that we come together for events such as last weekend’s Jamie Boeckel Memorial Fund Regatta.

Have a safe and fun summer.