| Lay
Day: U.S. Olympic Star Class Trials - The Stars'
Problem: Stopping Cayard And Trinter
No
racing Wednesday (lay day). Thursday's forecast
(by Chris Bedford): Strong winds.
By
Rich Roberts
For YachtRacing.com
MIAMI,
Fla.---George Szabo of San Diego couldn't be more
pleased with his performance nearly halfway through
the U.S. Olympic Trials for the Star class.
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The
wind was still blowing hard on the lay day Wednesday
when Coach John Craig discussed strategy with
the front half of the frontrunning team of Paul
Cayard (not shown) and Phil Trinter. Photo ©
Rich Roberts / YachtRacing.com
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"We
had a fantastic day," he exulted as he bounced
off his boat at the end of the first phase of competition
leading into Wednesday's lay day. "[Crew Mark]
Strube's doing an awesome job. We're sailing well,
sailing smart."
He
paused soberly and added, "Just not fantastic
enough."
Even
after five top five finishes, including a first
and a second, in the first seven of 16 scheduled
races, Szabo/Strube are in third place, one point
behind ageless Vince Brun and his crew, Mike Dorgan.
The latter have all single-digit finishes since
an opening OCS that is their discard.
But
Paul Cayard and Phil Trinter are 14 points in front
of them and seemingly sailing in a different zone
than everyone else (2-(6)-1-2-3-1-1, 10 points).
Brun,
57, like Cayard a former world champion who has
raced against the great ones all of his adult life,
walked over to congratulate Cayard in the boatyard
at the U.S. Sailing Center with genuine praise mixed
with a dash of awe.
Later,
Brun said, "It seems like Paul has some zap.
He's sailing very well and playing his cards just
right. Before, he was in the middle of the pack,
but now he has an edge he hasn't had before."
Another
contender and world champ, Eric Doyle, said, "He's
fast in every condition, upwind and downwind. They've
put in the most effort, so it's not surprising."
Cayard
and Trinter have been sailing together for more
than a year since they were together with the Oracle
America's Cup team in New Zealand. Each has won
a world title in the Star class, Cayard in 1988
with Steve Erickson---Mark Reynolds' current crew---and
Trinter with Joe Londrigan in '93.
Cayard,
44, has sailed a Star for 27 years between five
America's Cup campaigns, which have been a model
for his current effort.
Like
most of the contenders, he and Trinter have a coach,
John Craig, who monitors their every move for detailed
debriefings later. But Cayard and Trinter also have
a personal trainer, Sam Broven, who works with other
professional athletes and sometimes doubles as a
personal chef.
Broven
supervises their gym work, wherever they are, almost
every day.
Cayard
said, "I'm stronger---talking what I can lift
and how many reps I can do---than when I was 28
years old."
They'll
have no oversights in preparation to regret if they
don't win the sole Olympic berth at stake here---and
nobody is handing them a ticket to Athens yet, either.
A
flock of rivals, such as Reynolds, a four-time Olympian
and triple medallist, and Doyle/Brian Sharp, John
MacCausland/Brad Nichol, Howie Shiebler/Will Stout
and Rick Merriman/Bill Bennett are in position to
challenge Cayard/Trinter when the second throwout
kicks in after 12 races Friday or Saturday and they
can toss their worst results.
But
Cayard/Trinter's leverage is formidable in that
their worst finish has been sixth, so they can afford
two bad races before getting into serious trouble.
"The
challenge is to keep it together for the last part,"
Cayard said. "Some people will be looking at
us really hard. When we come back [Thursday] it
isn't going to be easy."
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There's
no mistaking that Austin Sperry, who sails
with Andy MacDonald, is one dedicated Star
crew. Photo © Rich Roberts / YachtRacing.com
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Trinter,
35, said if their top rivals are somewhat tense
at this point, it would be understandable.
"This
regatta is different because there's finality to
it. Only one boat gets to go. They not only need
to sail well but find a way to slow us down.
"Our
boat speed's pretty good, so if you're going to
slow us down you'd better do it at the starting
line, and if you do that you're putting yourself
in danger."
Wednesday
they showed they were as tough mentally as physically
when their mast fell down upon leaving the marina.
They replaced it in 17 minutes and reached the starting
line with 10 minutes to spare and won both races.
Trinter
laughed. "We keep each other under control,"
Trinter said. "If I'm uptight, Paul's cool,
and if he's uptight I'm cool."
Trinter,
35, spent most of Wednesday doing minor maintenance
chores on the boat in an otherwise deserted yard.
"I'm
glad we're in the position we're in," he said,
"but people, I would think, are going to be
shooting for us."
The
race committee is hoping to sail three races Thursday
to get back on the two-a-day schedule.
Leaders
(22 boats, 7 of 16 races, one discard):
1.
Paul Cayard/Phil Trinter, San Francisco, 2-(6)-1-2-3-1-1,
10. points.
2.
Vince Brun/Mike Dorgan, San Diego, (23/OCS)-9-2-1-4-5-3,
24.
3.
George Szabo/Mark Strube, San Diego, 4-5-(14)-9-1-4-2,
25.
4.
Eric Doyle/Brian Sharp, San Diego, 1-1-9-8-5-10-(12),
34.
5.
John MacCausland/Brad Nichol, Cherry Hill, N.J,
6-8-3-6-10-(15)-5, 38.
6.
Mark Reynolds/Steve Erickson, San Diego, 5-2-10-7-13-2-(15),
39.
7.
Howie Shiebler/Will Stout, San Francisco, 3-3-6-(23/OCS)-12-9-6,
39.
8.
Rick Merriman/Bill Bennett, San Diego, 7-4-(17)-13-2-7-9,
42.
9.
Andrew MacDonald/Austin Sperry, Laguna Beach, Calif.,
11-7-5-4-6-(13)-10, 43.
10.
Andy Lovell/Magnus Liljedahl, New Orleans, (23/OCS)-23/DNS-4-3-11-3-7,
51.
Complete
standings: www.ussailing.org/olympics/olympictrials/2004
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