43rd
OLYMPIC CLASSES REGATTA
March 21-23, 2003
Alamitos Bay Yacht Club Long Beach, Calif.
www.abyc.org
March 22, 2003 For immediate release
49ER
GOLD RUSH RUNS THROUGH LONG BEACH
 |
| Three generations gather
at 43rd Olympic Classes Regatta as grandpa
David Branch of St. Helen's, Ore., president
of the U.S. Finn class, reunites with daughter
Piper of Cypress, Calif. and grandsons Jack,
3 1/2, and Trent, 2. Photo by Rich Roberts |
LONG
BEACH, Calif.---For more than 150 years in California
the term "49er" has meant the great
Gold Rush of the mid-19th century. A tight group
of bold American sailors at the 43rd Olympic Classes
Regatta at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club can relate
to that in their charge toward Olympic glory on
a wildly exciting boat of the same name.
The
swift but delicately balanced 49er skiff was introduced
as an Olympic class at Sydney in 2000 when brothers
Jonathan and Charlie McKee of Seattle won silver
medals after beating out Morgan Larson and Kevin
Hall for the U.S. berth. Now those veterans have
left the class to some younger contenders, who
have considerable sorting out to do before booking
flights to Athens in 2004.
"This
is great competition," said Dalton Bergan
of Coronado, who sails with Zack Maxam as crew.
"I think all three of us were winning at
one point today."
After
two days, the top team is David Fagen of St. Petersburg,
Fla. and crew Bora Gulari, Detroit, followed by
Andy Mack, White Salmon, Wash., and Adam Lowry,
San Francisco, and then Bergan and Maxam, all
within five points with four races remaining Sunday.
 |
| Snipes
run the line moments before the starting horn.
Photo by Rich Roberts |
The
top-ranked U.S. team, Tim Wadlow, Branford, Conn.
and Peter Spaulding, Coral Gables, Fla., is not
competing here, but they'll all be reunited soon.
"We're
all getting ready for Europe, where all the major
regattas are going to happen," Bergan said.
A
series of regattas overseas will be an opportunity
to measure themselves against the rest of the
world. Bergan expects the experience to promote
a major learning curve.
"Our
biggest issue is heavy air upwind boat speed,
but we're not getting much practice in that,"
he said after Saturday's racing when the sea breeze
failed to fill.
That
left 168 sailors sailing 135 boats in seven classes
to deal with the tricky shifts of a light southerly
wind condition. It's known as the "Catalina
eddy" in which the breeze never gets west
of Santa Catalina Island 26 miles offshore to
pump its power down the San Pedro Channel.
The
wind, rising above 8 knots only slightly in the
early afternoon, swung through 45 degrees through
the day, making patience a premium.
 |
| Finn
sailor Bradley Nieuwstad (1174) finds himself
compatible with Star competitor Will Durant
(7042). Photo by Rich Roberts |
Meg
Gaillard, Jamestown, R.I., and Mo Hart, Santa
Cruz, Calif., made the most of it and showed why
they are the top-ranked U.S. campaigners in the
single-handed Europe and Finn classes, respectively.
Gaillard had three first places and a second while
Hart won all four of his races.
An
awards ceremony, including ABYC perpetual trophies
for class winners, will be held on the club's
waterside patio following the final race Sunday.
 |
 |
| Dalton
Bergan and crew Zack Maxam complete a smooth
jibe in their 49er. Photo by Rich Roberts |
Finn
campaigner Geoff Ewenson approaches windward
mark with Stars in hot pursuit. Photo by Rich
Roberts |
The leaders:
EUROPE
(20 boats)
1. Meg Gaillard, Jamestown, R.I., 1-(2)-1-1-1-1-2,
7 points.
2. Krysia Pohl, Alameda, Calif., 2-3-2-(6)-2-2-5,
16.
3. Jennifer Spaulding, Vancouver, B.C., 3-1-5-5-(8)-4-6,
24.
FINN
(11)
1. Mo Hart, Santa Cruz, Calif., (2)-1-2-1-1-1-1,
7.
2. Geoff Ewenson, Annapolis, Md., 1-(3)-1-2-3-3-2,
12.
3. Henry Sprague, Long Beach, 3-2-(4)-3-2-2-3,
15.
49ER
(13)
1. David Fagen, St. Petersburg, Fla./Bora Gulari,
Detroit, 2-3-1-1-4-(8)-1-1-(10)-2-1, 16. 2. Andy
Mack, White Salmon, Wash./Adam Lowry, San Francisco,
1-2-2-(6)-1-4-3-2-(6)-3-2, 20. 3. Dalton Bergan/Zack
Maxam, Coronado, Calif., 3-1-(5)-2-2-1-8-3-4-1-4,
21.
LASER
(43)
1. Mike Lugh, Vancouver, B.C., 1-1-1-7-2030(15),
15.
2. Tie between Brendon Piovesan, Vancouver, B.C.,
1-8-2-(OCS)-4-15-8, and Chris Raab, Long Beach,
4-4-12-6-10-(14)-2, 38.
LASER
RADIAL (28)
1. Parker Shinn, San Diego, 1-1-4-2-(5)-5-2, 15.
2. Doug Hart, San Diego, (9)-4-3-3-2-1-4, 17.
3. Bob Falk, Long Beach, (8)-2-1-8-4-6-3, 24.
STAR
(10)
1. Mike Dorgan/Eric Weintraub, San Diego, 1-1-1-(9)-2-1-6,
12. 2. Eric Lidecis, Newport Beach, 2-3-2-2-3-(5)-5,
17. 3. Jeremy Davidson/Jessica Costa, Long Beach,
3-2-3-3-(4)-4-4, 19.
SNIPE
(9)
1. Rick Arneson/Gus Wirth, San Diego, 1-1-1-2,
5.
2. David Tillson/John Fretwell, San Diego, 2-2-3-4,
11.
3. Ken Redler/Barbara Tillson, Marina del Rey,
3-4-1-6, 14.
Complete
results and photos: www.abyc.org
INFORMATION
ABYC (562) 434-9956
CO-CHAIRMEN
Jim Bateman
Jbateaux@aol.com
Kevin
Ellis
Kellis@getty.edu
PRESS
OFFICER
Rich Roberts
(310) 835-2526
cell phone (racing days) 1-310-766-6547
richsail@earthlink.net
