| Day
6: U.S. Olympic Star Class Trials - Cayard/Trinter
Pocket A 2-1 Day, Playing It Safe
Friday's
wind: E/NE, 22 knots. Saturday's forecast (by Chris
Bedford): E/NE, 19-25 knots.
By
Rich Roberts
For
YachtRacing.com
 |
Mark
Reynolds and crew Steve Erickson finesse their
Star downwind in 22 knots of breeze. Photo
© Rich Roberts / YachtRacing.com
|
MIAMI,
Fla.---Barring a dramatic shift in the course of
events, Friday could become significant as the day
Paul Cayard and crew Phil Trinter put the hammer
down.
"They
put a couple of more nails in our coffins,"
rival John MacCausland said.
But
don’t try to sell that to Cayard. Not yet.
Even after scoring second and first places in 22
knots of breeze on Biscayne Bay to stretch his lead
to 15 points after 10 of 16 scheduled races in the
U.S. Olympic Trials for the Star class, he said,
"It's still too early. A lot of things can
happen."
Once
the winds dropped from 30 knots and the fleet was
allowed to leave shore to start racing at 2:30,
2½ hours behind schedule, two of San Diego's
world champions took their best shots at Cayard/Trinter.
First,
the class's only double Olympic gold medallist,
Mark Reynolds, and crew Steve Erickson stalked them
to the first windward mark. But Cayard/Trinter held
control, making only four tacks on the 1½-mile
leg, and when Reynolds/Erickson fell back Eric Doyle
and Brian Sharp came on strong.
They
pushed Cayard/Trinter around the second windward
mark bow to stern and passed the regatta leaders
on the second downwind run to win by four boat lengths.
Sharp
said, "We read the shifts and had decent speed.
We crossed him upwind once, and downwind we just
put our rig forward and chipped away."
"They
were just going faster downwind," said Cayard,
who hasn't been pushing his boat to the limit in
heavy weather and was happy to settle for a safe
second place.
Cayard/Trinter
have resisted putting their mast forward, unlike
some of their pursuers. George Szabo and crew Mark
Strube quietly posted a commendable pair of thirds
Friday to tighten their grip on second place, but
Cayard is determined to play it safe.
"George
is going for it," he said, "but if he
makes a mistake he's going to drop his rig, and
that's a risk I'm not going to take."
In
the second race, moments after starting near the
committee boat, Cayard/Trinter tacked away right
with three non-contender boats while everyone else
kept going left. When C/T tacked 13 minutes later,
they crossed the others by a couple of hundred yards,
then tacked again eight minutes later to consolidate
their lead and held a 31-second lead at the mark.
What
did Cayard know that nobody else did?
"I
didn't know anything," he said, smiling. "I
had no intention of going right, but when we came
off the line the wind was in the biggest left-hand
shift of the day."
So,
as the racing manuals suggest, he tacked on the
header. Only
Andy Lovell and crew Magnus Liljedahl stayed in
touch, with the main pack 48 seconds behind them.
They
ground 19 seconds out of Cayard/Trinter's lead on
the first run but couldn't get any closer on the
final lap as C/T covered religiously. Tactics actually
went by the wayside when the boats sailed toward
a rainbow above the windward mark that drew them
into a heavy squall blowing down the course.
Lovell
said, "We were trying to get him, but then
the squall came through and we went conservative,
thinking it might start blowing 40 [knots]."
Lovell/Liljedahl
are in seventh place, sailing well but carrying
the burden of two lost races on the first day when
their mast broke. After two more races they can
use their second discard of 23 points to render
the second of those disasters a mere memory.
"I
think we’ll jump way up," Lovell said,
flashing a smile that has been rare this week.
And
even if Cayard and Trinter prove out as unstoppable
as they appear to be, the others still have some
motivation left.
Sharp
said, "Whether you win or lose, sailing a couple
of good races is good for your pride. We’re
here to try."
Leaders
(22 boats, 10 of 16 races, one discard):
 |
George
Szabo (center) and crew Mark Strube (right)
currently are in second place but took time
to check and help straighten Ben Cesare's mast.
Nelson Stevenson, a Star sailor from Westport,
Conn., is behind Szabo. Photo © Rich Roberts
/ YachtRacing.com
|
1.
Paul Cayard/Phil Trinter, San Francisco, 2-(6)-1-2-3-1-1-4-2-1,
17 points.
2.
George Szabo/Mark Strube, San Diego, 4-5-(14)-9-1-4-2-1-3-3,
32.
3.
Vince Brun/Mike Dorgan, San Diego, (23/OCS)-9-2-1-4-5-3-10-11-6,
51.
4.
Eric Doyle/Brian Sharp, San Diego, 1-1-9-8-5-10-(12)-11-1-8,
54.
5.
Mark Reynolds/Steve Erickson, San Diego, 5-2-10-7-13-2-(15)-9-7-4,
59.
6.
John MacCausland/Brad Nichol, Cherry Hill, N.J,
6-8-3-6-10-(15)-5-8-4-9, 59.
7.
Andy Lovell/Magnus Liljedahl, New Orleans, (23/OCS)-23/DNS-4-3-11-3-7-3-5-2,
61.
8.
Rick Merriman/Bill Bennett, San Diego, 7-4-(17)-13-2-7-9-5-8-7,
62.
9.
Andrew MacDonald/Austin Sperry, Laguna Beach, Calif.,
11-7-5-4-6-(13)-10-7-12-5, 67.
10.
Doug Schofield/Bob Schofield, Boston, 12-13-(16)-11-7-8-11-2-6-11,
81.
Complete
standings: www.ussailing.org/olympics/olympictrials/2004
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