ICSA
470 Worlds Preview

Hello race fans,

Tomorrow the 470 Worlds begin in Cagliari, Sardinia. The US team has been here for a week to 10 days training daily for this terrific event. We have had a few dramas, made some great strides, and are eager to get on with it tomorrow.

This is a beautiful sailing venue. Cagliari looks out onto a large bay on the southern tip of Sardinia. There are parallel mountain ranges extending to the north for nearly 60 miles with a wide valley in between. This is ideal for producing mistral conditions and we have already seen several good examples. When the mistral is too weak to control the show, there is a very reliable seabreeze waiting to move in. The only glitch so far has been the frequent small thunder storms that have a habit of killing the seabreeze.

We have eight teams, five men and three women, in the 170 boat field. This is a BIG worlds. The men's fleet will be divided into three groups and the women into two. Six qualifying races are scheduled over three days to determine which teams advance to the Gold Fleet finals. For the first time, the scores from the qualifying round will be carried into the final round, which has been reduced to eight races from twelve.

On the men's side, our squad covers the gamut from super veterans to rookies. Our super vets, Paul Foerster and Kevin Burnham, are returning Silver Medalists from the 1992 and 2000 Olympic Games. They are making their international debut in their second event as a team. Everyone is wondering if these guys still have the right stuff. (Those of us on the inside know that they do.)

Steve Hunt and Michael Miller are back on track again following Michael's knee injury last May. After a tune up in Athens and some alterations to their mainsail they are back in top form for this one. Mark Ivey and Ward Cromwell are sailing better than ever and hope to improve on their best from the US performance at last years Worlds.

Yale undergraduates Stu McNay and Ross Anderson will be wrapping up their first international season in the 470 at this event. They have been humbled on a few occasions, but are learning at a frantic pace. Mikey Murison of San Francisco, CA and Eben Russell of Duxbury, MA are our latest bi-coastal team. They are new to the 470 and getting quite an education on this trip.

With three fleets, making the cut for the Gold fleet can never be taken for
granted. Both Hunt / Miller and Foerster, with former team mate Bob
Merricks, have found themselves in the Silver Fleet in the past, casualties of the old qualifying system that forced many races to be sailed in substandard conditions and made everyone more vulnerable to equipment failures.

Our women's squad is making a determined assault on the established pecking order. Katie McDowell and Isabelle Kinsolving have been in Europe for most of the season and are beginning to demonstrate their potential. Consistency has eluded them so far, but they have had many terrific races in a variety of conditions. They are ready for a break out here.

This will be the third international event for Amanda Clark and Sara Mergenthaler. Like McDowell/Kinsolving, consistency is the key for this team. Recent Dartmouth grads, Erin Maxwell and Jen Morgan, are our third team. They are now reunited after a brief effort leading up to the 1999 Trials. This is their first international event, although Erin was at last year's worlds. All three of these teams have huge upward potential and we are all hoping that they will realize a good portion of it over the next week.

Skip Whyte
US Sailing Team