| Small
But Mighty Fleet Set For U.S. Olympic Star Trials
Saturday's
forecast (by Chris Bedford): Wind E-NE, steady near
20 knots, gusts above 20.
By
Rich Roberts
For YachtRacing.com
Photo
boat captain Daryl Saunders.
MIAMI,
Fla.---Nobody knows better than Mark Reynolds and
Paul Cayard that it's going to be more than their
personal match race for the U.S. Olympic berth in
the Star class on Biscayne Bay over the next nine
days (March 20-28).
 |
Mike
Dorgan, crewing for Vince Brun, checks his
weight, as all competitors are required to
do daily. Photo © Rich Roberts / YachtRacing.com
|
They're
the marquee names---Reynolds, 48, for his two gold
medals and a silver as the American rep in the last
four Olympics; Cayard, 44, for success in bigtime
sailing in everything except getting to the Games---but
20 other teams figure to be more than window dressing.
Much more.
Vince
Brun, still going strong at 57, is one of four Star
world champions in the fleet, along with Reynolds,
Cayard and Eric Doyle. He'll be sailing with a slimmer
Mike Dorgan as crew (more on that in a moment).
"The
[2000] Trials didn't have the depth we have here,"
Brun said Friday.
Sixteen
races---two a day---are scheduled, starting at noon
EST. Each competitor may discard his worst two.
Wednesday, March 24, will be a lay day, no matter
what.
Rating
this fleet is dangerous. Although 22 boats is much
smaller than the usual Star turnout for a major
event, it's normal for U.S. Trials and a five more
than what will compete at Athens in August. Pundits
are saying 8 or 10 have a reasonable chance of winning
the ticket to Greece.
Those
worth watching include Howie Shiebler and crew Will
Stout, who hit peak form here in winning two recent
local tune-up events and as the top U.S. finisher
(fourth) among 93 boats in last week's Bacardi Cup
that drew virtually all of the world's top Star
sailors to these waters.
Class
veteran John MacCausland, with J. Brad Nichol, and
George Szabo, with Mark Strube, were seventh and
11th in the Bacardi. Reynolds, perhaps more in a
testing mode, was 25th, while Cayard and crew Phil
Trinter won the first race, then went home without
sailing the last two to save their energy for the
big test.
Steve
Erickson, 42, is sailing as Reynolds' new crew.
He won a gold medal with Bill Buchan in 1984 and
a world title with Cayard in '88. If 90 years of
maturity on one boat is an advantage in dealing
with pressure . . .
Erickson
cuts that theory short.
"It's
not like there's a bunch of guys in their twenties
here," he said. "The pressure of trying
to win something that comes along only every four
years---that's the pressure people feel."
 |
Former
world champion Eric Doyle and crew Brian Sharp
tend to last-minute details. Photo ©
Rich Roberts / YachtRacing.com
|
Noteworthy
is the Star class's new international weight rule
that will be in effect in the Olympics for the first
time, as it is here. Essentially, it's meant to
shift the body ballast factor aft away from the
traditionally hefty crew hanging over the side from
the knees up to keep the boat flat and fast upwind.
The
formula is C=((220-S/2)+220---C meaning total crew
weight and S meaning skipper. If skipper and crew
each weigh 220 pounds, their total is 440, the maximum
limit. But if the skipper outweighs the crew---there's
the new wrinkle---the team gets a bonus, especially
if the skipper hikes out, too.
Every
man will be weighed before each day's racing---and
maybe after, as well.
Dorgan
used to sail at as much as 313 pounds. He is now
where he wants to be at 232---and loving it.
"I
helped to push the weight limit [at the Star class
meeting] in Slovenia in 1998," he said. "I
was one of the first Americans to get up and say,
'Hey, [the old system] is unfair.' The Europeans
pushed [for change] for years. Now it's more strength
and athletic ability that counts."
How
does a big guy lose 81 pounds and keep it off, besides
cutting back on Twinkies?
"I
get up at 5 a.m. and ride my road bike two or three
hours," Dorgan said.
Of
all the competitors, Brun may appreciate being here
more than any. He was barred from the U.S. Star
Trials in 1984 because he sailed for his parents'
native Brazil in '80, even though he was born in
New York and had lived in San Diego for 25 years.
Olympic rules require participants who switch countries
to sit out one Olympiad.
 |
Chief
measurer John Koopman (left) and assistant
Rick Burgess checked out everybody's sails
and other equipment. Photo © Rich Roberts
/ YachtRacing.com
|
In
retrospect, Brun said, "After time goes by
and you think about it, it's a pretty good rule.
Otherwise, people are switching countries back and
forth."
Although
he maintains an international ranking, he isn't
staking success on winning the Trials but on continuing
to compete with the best America has to offer.
"Just
being around these guys and knowing everybody is
doing their best is enough," he said. "Maybe
something good will come out of it---[something
to do with] sails or equipment. One guy is going
to get all of that right.
"I'm
going to do my best, but winning isn't everything."
Competitors (listed alphabetically by skippers;
ISAF rankings noted if in world's top 60):
Bill
Allen (Highwood, Ill.) and Brad Lichter (Des Moines,
Iowa)
Karl
Anderson (Harwich, Mass.) and Ezra Culver (Miami,
Fla.)
Fotis
Boliakis (Ridgefield, Conn.) and Chris Rogers (Miami,
Fla.)
Steve
Brown (Santa Ana, Calif.) and Michael Marzahl (Oxnard,
Calif.)
Vince
Brun (53)* and Mike Dorgan (both San Diego, Calif.)
Paul
Cayard (14)* (Kentfield, Calif.) and Phil Trinter*
(Lorain, Ohio)
Ben
Cesare (Norwalk, Conn.) and Serge Leonidov (Jackson
Heights, N.Y.)
John
Dane (Pass Christian, Miss.) and Henry Sprague (Long
Beach, Calif.)
Eric
Doyle (49)* and Brian Sharp (both San Diego, Calif.)
Stephen
Gould (San Francisco, Calif.) and Christopher Gould
(Atherton,
Calif.)
Jock
Kohlhaus (Miami, Fla.) and Rick Burgess (Hewitt,
N.J.)
Andy
Lovell (New Orleans, La.) and Magnus Liljedahl*
(Miami, Fla.)
John
MacCausland (39) (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and J. Brad
Nichol (Hanover, N.H.)
 |
Andy
Macdonald and crew Austin Sperry shook out
their new sails Friday. Photo © Rich
Roberts / YachtRacing.com
|
Andrew
Macdonald and Austin Sperry (both Miami, Fla.)
Richard
Merriman (21) and William M. Bennett (both San Diego,
Calif.)
Mark
Reynolds (4)* ** (San Diego, Calif.) and Steve Erickson*
** (Seattle, Wash./Hood River, Ore.)
Douglas
Schofield (51) (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) and Robert
Schofield (Annapolis, Md.)
Howie
Shiebler (38) (San Francisco, Calif.) and Will Stout
(San Diego,
Calif.)
George
Szabo (24) (San Diego, Calif.) and Mark Strube (Miami,
Fla.)
Peter
Vessella (45) (Burlingame, Calif.) and Brian Fatih
(Miami, Fla.)
John
Virtue (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Scott Pack (San
Diego, Calif.)
Henrik
Wennerstrom (Miami, Fla.) and Jon Rogers (San Francisco,
Calif.)
*---World
champion.
**---Olympic
champion.
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