US Sailors working on a 505 Worlds sweep

by Rich Roberts on 26 Aug 2009 Good thing the wind calmed down a bit Tuesday or Mike Martin and crew Jeff Nelson, notorious for their heavy weather sailing, would be running away with the 2009 SAP 505 World Championship, hosted by the St. Francis Yacht Club.

Wait a minute. The Newport Beach, Calif. sailors were every bit as dominant in mom and pop breeze of 8 to 11 knots to start the day as conditions built to 20 by the end of the second race. They led at every mark in both races, sometimes seemingly too far ahead to read the sail numbers of their closest competitors, if they ever bothered to look back.

Their speed has been exceptional, their tactics solid and their boat handling like clockwork. When the wind came up, while others were flopping and flipping in their wake, their teamwork at executing jibes as they skipped over the waves at more than 20 knots was as slick and quick as a pas de deux at the
Royal Ballet.

Now, after discarding the 99 points for Race 2 Sunday when their mast broke as they were running a close second to Mike Holt and crew Carl Smit, their tally shows only four points in five races. But they do look back.

'Yeah,' Nelson said, 'absolutely.'

As for Holt and Smit, they're three points behind with a first and four seconds after beating everybody but Martin/Nelson.

Nelson said, 'Their worst race was a second, so we don't have much breathing room. They were nipping at our heels for awhile.'

Three points is within mathematical reach should the leaders stumble again---but don't count on it. Their wins were by 1 minute 38 seconds and 1:12. Holt/Smith may be keeping Martin/Nelson honest, but they need to pay attention to Australia's three-time world champion, Chris Nicholson with crew Casey Smith, whose (4)-3-3-3-3 line score is also impressive.

Nick Adamson of nearby San Carlos, Calif., and crew Steve Bourdow, are fourth with 19 points but facing reality.

'They'll have to screw up or have some problems,' Adamson said of the leaders. 'But anything can happen.'

No racing was scheduled Wednesday, and the regatta will wind up with two races Thursday and one each Friday and Saturday.

There will be one more discard after the eighth race, but even that may not help perennial contender and 1999 winner Howard Hamlin of Long Beach, Calif. and crew Paul Cayard, whose seventh and 14th places Tuesday left them 28 points back in seventh, behind Germany's Jens Findel and crew Johannes Tellen and Seattle's Dalton Bergan and crew Fritz Lanzinger.

Hamlin/Cayard have already used one of their throwouts by voluntarily rejecting, in a change of heart, the redress they had won after being disqualified in Monday's race for interfering with the Gate Launch boat that follows the Pathfinder race boat, a.k.a. the 'rabbit.' Then in Tuesday's second race their boat sprang a leak when the gasket in the centerboard failed.

'We had geysers this high in the boat,' Hamlin said, holding his hand waist high. 'I'm sure it hurt us. We were slow.'

That morning Cayard had phoned Hamlin to suggest they forfeit the redress.

'That was my first gate start in 30 years,' Cayard said. 'I went home and read the rules'---specifically, paragraph 11.9 that states 'a boat shall not interfere with the Pathfinder . . . [or] the Gate Launch [boat]'---in this case an inflatable tender.

The rule didn't define 'interfere,' but now, after a pre-race amendment issued Tuesday, it says 'a boat shall not make contact with the boats.'

Cayard said, 'We didn’t even know we hit the thing. One of the guys on it said a piece of my clothing grazed it. I don't know what that could have been. The hull did not make contact.'

But, Cayard said, 'I figured it all out at 11:30 last night.'

He decided the right thing to do was to go with the spirit of the rule.

 

Pos	Sail	Country	Skipper	Crew	1	2	3	4	5	Total Points	Pos
1	8714	USA	Mike Martin	Jeff Nelson	1	[99/DNF]	1	1	1	4.00	1
2	9002	USA	Mike Holt	Carl Smit	[2]	1	2	2	2	7.00	2
3	8786	AUS	Chris Nicholson	Casey Smith	[4]	3	3	3	3	12.00	3
4	8081	USA	Nick Adamson	Steve Bourdow	9	2	[13]	4	4	19.00	4
5	8875	GER	Jens Findel	Johannes Tellen	[72]	5	6	5	12	28.00	5
6	8815	USA	Dalton Bergan	Fritz Lanzinger	8	8	4	10	[15]	30.00	6
7	8762	USA	Howie Hamlin	Ian Mitchell/Paul Cayard	5	6	[99/RAF]	7	14	32.00	7
8	8681	USA	Ryan Cox	Stuart Park	[12]	11	12	6	8	37.00	8
9	8854	USA	Bruce Mahoney	Paul Allen	[24]	7	7	8	19	41.00	9
10	9012	GBR	Ian Pinnell	Carl Gibbon	7	14	8	13	[20]	42.00	10
11	8937	USA	Kevin Taugher	Ben Benjamin	14	4	10	18	[99/DNF]	46.00	11
12	8715	USA	Ethan Bixby	Simon Gorman	15	18	9	[21]	7	49.00	12
13	8974	GBR	James Hunt	Neil Fulcher	10	21	[26]	9	9	49.00	13
14	8913	USA	Tyler Moore	Geoff Ewenson	11	13	11	15	[16]	50.00	14
15	8946	AUS	Sandy Higgins	Paul Marsh	3	12	17	[24]	24	56.00	15
16	8801	AUS	Peter Chappell	Ian Davidson	6	24	[99/DNF]	17	10	57.00	16
17	9009	USA	Bruce Edwards	David Shelton	49	[99/DNF]	5	12	6	72.00	17
18	8987	USA	David Chatham	Jon Bell	17	10	21	30	[35]	78.00	18
19	7875	USA	Jeff Miller	Mike Smith	[38]	15	22	16	25	78.00	19
20	8958	GER	Stefan B?hm	Andreas Achterberg	31	[99/DNF]	24	19	5	79.00	20
21	9006	GBR	Terry Scutcher	Christian Diebitsch	13	[99/DNF]	18	33	18	82.00	21
22	8843	GER	Nicolai Voelckner	Lars Dehne	19	17	20	[41]	26	82.00	22
23	8794	AUS	Michael Babbage	James McAllister	20	16	37	20	[48]	93.00	23
24	8964	DEN	Jan Saugmann	Lasse Andreasen	18	9	25	42	[99/DNF]	94.00	24
25	8824	USA	Jen Morgan Glass	Ben Glass	47	[99/DNF]	15	11	22	95.00	25
26	8395	AUS	Paul Mitchell	Dale Mitchell	26	28	28	29	[99/DNF]	111.00	26
27	8965	GER	Hasso Plattner	Peter Alarie	28	[99/DNF]	19	46	21	114.00	27
28	8878	USA	Matt Noble	Bill Erklends	[61]	25	29	27	34	115.00	28
29	8554	USA	Ted Conrads	Brian Haines	22	33	32	[47]	29	116.00	29
30	8813	USA	Steve Kleha	Matthias Kennerknecht	16	22	[58]	53	28	119.00	30
31	8992	GER	Claas Lehmann	Leon Oehme	[42]	27	40	23	32	122.00	31
32	9020	GER	Tim Boeger	Markus Schoener	46	20	16	43	[64]	125.00	32
33	8853	AUS	Carter Jackson	Peter Holden	36	30	[99/DNF]	22	38	126.00	33
34	8886	AUS	Norman Rydge	Jordan Spencer	39	26	[99/DNF]	38	23	126.00	34
35	8953	USA	Augie Diaz	Tommy Fink	25	31	35	36	[41]	127.00	35
36	8796	AUS	Nick Deussen	Jonno Bannister	30	19	45	34	[99/DNF]	128.00	36
37	8722	USA	Macy Nelson	Parry Barclay	[41]	29	36	28	36	129.00	37
38	8651	GER	Christian Kellner	Martin Schoeler	52	[99/DNF]	31	35	17	135.00	38
39	8920	AUS	Michael Quirk	Simon Reffold	[99/DNS]	99/DNS	14	14	11	138.00	39
40	8817	AUS	Nick Davis	Michael Duffield	35	23	41	[45]	40	139.00	40
41	8017	USA	Derek Campbell	Jon Henderson	23	[99/DNS]	43	31	47	144.00	41
42	8963	GBR	Martin Hodgson	Adrian Miles	40	40	34	[44]	30	144.00	42
43	8990	GER	Frieder Achterberg	Arne Lanatowitz	29	[99/DNF]	39	40	39	147.00	43
44	7611	USA	John Turney	Ned Turney	27	35	44	[50]	42	148.00	44
45	8851	USA	Keith Davids	Jesse Falsone	48	38	[99/DNF]	37	33	156.00	45
46	8890	AUS	Malcom Higgins	Nick Johnston	[99/DNS]	99/DNS	23	25	13	160.00	46
47	8830	USA	Ramsay Key	Andrew Buttner	34	[99/DNS]	51	26	49	160.00	47
48	7346	USA	John Loe	Craig Thompson	45	34	47	[52]	37	163.00	48
49	9004	USA	Douglas Hagan	Robert Woelful	51	32	[99/DNS]	39	44	166.00	49
50	8970	USA	Robert Tennant	Rich Mundell	33	51	42	[75]	46	172.00	50
51	8524	AUS	Richard Gallimore	Tom Woods	[80]	43	30	54	50	177.00	51
52	8557	AUS	Neil Long	Mick Odonnel	[99/DNS]	99/DNS	27	32	27	185.00	52
53	8893	AUS	Jeffrey Robinson	Bryce Penfold	43	37	50	[99/DNF]	56	186.00	53
54	8192	CAN	Philip Cragg	Reto Corfu	[99/DNS]	46	33	51	58	188.00	54
55	8747	GER	Martin Kittsteiner	Oliver Stieglitz	[62]	41	52	58	55	206.00	55
56	8808	USA/RSA	Evert Meyer	Peter Funke	56	[99/DNF]	53	56	43	208.00	56
57	8831	USA	Pierre Jeangirard	Paul Von Grey	57	49	54	49	[99/DNF]	209.00	57
58	8266	USA	John Gray	David Rasmussen	55	45	[61]	55	59	214.00	58
59	8904	USA	Hubert Guy	Xavier Detappe	[68]	48	46	61	63	218.00	59
60	8647	USA	Andrew Watters	Tripp Burd	63	44	[99/DNF]	69	52	228.00	60
61	8731	USA	Thad Lieb	Pat Diola	60	[99/DNF]	48	63	57	228.00	61
62	7156	USA	Aaron Ross	Rob Waterman	54	39	38	[99/DNF]	99/DNF	230.00	62
63	8919	USA	Ted Ferrarone	Doug McKeige	53	[99/DNF]	99/DNF	48	31	231.00	63
64	9022	AUS	Ian Burford	David Christie	66	42	57	66	[99/DNF]	231.00	64
65	8968	AUS	Matt Hansen	Anthony Dean	64	47	56	67	[99/DNF]	234.00	65
66	8840	AUS	Kevin Cameron	Matt Bowden	37	36	[99/DNF]	64	99/DNF	236.00	66
67	8411	USA	Bill Jenkins	Dan Merino	77	[99/DNF]	55	59	45	236.00	67
68	8967	USA	Philippe Kahn	Peter Spaulding	70	50	67	[83]	65	252.00	68
69	8720	GER	Lennart Tasche	Frederik Tasche	44	[99/DNS]	99/DNF	60	53	256.00	69
70	8821	USA	Katherine Long	Stephen Long	71	[99/DNF]	62	71	61	265.00	70
71	8855	AUS	Marcos Vivian	Luke Payne	59	[99/DNF]	99/DNF	62	51	271.00	71
72	8781	AUS	Earle Alexander	Ian Gregg	21	[99/DNF]	66	99/DNF	99/DNF	285.00	72
73	8783	AUS	Sarah Withall	Marcus Cooper	69	[99/DNF]	99/DNS	57	60	285.00	73
74	8973	AUS	Brett Sharpe	Anthony Gaunt	65	[99/DNF]	99/DNF	68	54	286.00	74
75	8939	USA	John Wyles	Gareth Fletcher	58	[99/DNS]	99/DNS	72	66	295.00	75
76	8888	USA	Mark Christensen	Arthur Kinsolving	50	[99/DNF]	49	99/DNS	99/DNS	297.00	76
77	9005	BER	Douglas De Couto	Gareth Williams	67	[99/DNF]	59	77	99/DNF	302.00	77
78	7068	USA	Mike Coe	Russell Miller	73	[99/DNS]	60	70	99/DNF	302.00	78
79	8441	USA	Olav Schluter	Mike Renda	78	[99/DNS]	99/DNF	65	62	304.00	79
80	7093	USA	Charles Fulmer	Steve Gay	84	52	[99/DNS]	73	99/DNF	308.00	80
81	8775	GER	Jan Sell	Wiebke Gewinn	74	[99/DNS]	65	76	99/DNF	314.00	81
82	7877	USA	Kirk Twardowski	Steve Anderes	75	[99/DNS]	63	79	99/DNF	316.00	82
83	8277	AUS	John McLean	Jack McLean	82	[99/DNF]	64	81	99/DNF	326.00	83
84	8558	USA	Angus Brackett	Colin Orsini	32	[99/DNF]	99/DNS	99/DNS	99/DNS	329.00	84
85	8245	USA	Charlie Dore	Joe Requa	83	[99/DNF]	99/DNF	84	67	333.00	85
86	8049	GER	Matthias Tellen	Moritz Luether	76	[99/DNF]	99/DNF	80	99/DNF	354.00	86
87	6984	USA	Antoine Laussu	Alexandre Laussu	92/MAN(1)	[99/DNF]	68	99/DNF	99/DNS	358.00	87
88	8645	USA	Ryan Staszko	Thomas Hurwitch	88	[99/DNS]	99/DNS	74	99/DNF	360.00	88
89	7099	CAN	Christian Dechamplain	Alistair Boyle	89	[99/DNF]	99/DNS	85	99/DNF	372.00	89
90	8842	USA	Tom Kassberg	Guy Rittger	[99/DNS]	99/DNS	99/DNF	78	99/DNF	375.00	90
91	9010	FRA	Gilles Carvallo	Jean-Yves	79	[99/DNF]	99/DNF	99/DNS	99/DNS	376.00	91
92	7094	USA	Jennifer Lawson	Soren Jensen	81	[99/DNS]	99/DNF	99/DNS	99/DNS	378.00	92
93	5281	USA	Michael Lazzaro	Mark Lazzaro	[99/DNS]	99/DNS	99/DNF	82	99/DNF	379.00	93
94	7062	USA	Peter Scott	Jonny Moseley	85	[99/DNF]	99/DNS	99/DNF	99/DNF	382.00	94
95	8867	GBR	Patrick McGale	Jonathan Ross	86	[99/DNF]	99/DNS	99/DNF	99/DNS	383.00	95
96T	7110	USA	Jesse Corlett	Ryan Nelson	[99/DNS]	99/DNS	99/DNS	99/DNF	99/DNS	396.00T	96T
96T	7201	USA	John Billings	Bill McKinney	[99/DNS]	99/DNS	99/DNS	99/DNF	99/DNS	396.00T	96T
96T	7453	SWE	Louis Wrede	Magnus Ryde	[99/DNS]	99/DNS	99/DNS	99/DNS	99/DNS	396.00T	96T

(1)	SI 23.3 Penalty
(2)	Scoring System is ISAF Low Point 2009-2012
(3)	Finishes in [brackets] denote throwouts

'I called Howie and he agreed.'

Cayard, a longtime St. Francis YC member, informed race officials of the decision when he arrived at the club.

Later, Pip Pearson, the International 505 Class president from Australia, said the action of Cayard and Hamlin was 'one of the most honorable things I've ever seen.'

Cayard said, 'It's not all about winning. You have to live with yourself.'

SAP is the naming sponsor and APL is the presenting sponsor. Marine Media Alliance, Drystone Berridge Vineyard Estates, Lindsay Art Glass, North Sails, Ronstan and 505 American Section are supporting sponsors.