September 16, 2000

More on the opening ceremonies now that the USA has been able to watch them on TV.

Olympic Opening Ceremonies are like no other sporting event I have ever seen. I watched the ceremonies from the stands in Los Angeles (’84), and was so impressed with the whole event that at the time I thought nothing could match this. I watched the 1988 Seoul Opening Ceremonies on TV from Pusan, Korea, where the yachting events were being held. In 1992, as an official member of the yachting delegation, I marched with the Team. NOTHING was as exciting as that experience, as you feel such a sense of pride marching in following your country’s flag. The ‘Dream Team’ with Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, joined the parade of athletes just three rows in front of me, and it was absolute bedlam upon reaching the infield.

Last night in Sydney I was not able to march, but did have a stadium ticket courtesy of USOC. It was impressive to watch everything, and all I was thinking was, would I, as a parent, allow my daughter to fly over the stadium like 13 year old Nikki Webster. It was a very impressive performance.

As the parade of athletes proceeded in there were two tremendous ovations (other than the expected ones for GBR, NZL, GER, ESP, ITA, FRA, and of course USA and AUS). The first ovation was for KOREA, who for the first time compete in the Olympic Games as a unified Team. The applause was as resounding as when the unified German team marched in a number of years ago. The second impressive entrance was for the "Individual Olympic Athletes" who were representing East Timor, a country torn by civil war. Which goes to show that the Olympic Games transcends politics.

The torch lighting was one of the most impressive I have witnessed, surpassed only by Barcelona’s flaming arrow. The stadium was electric and I'm sure all 105,000 individuals will never forget the experience of participating in the opening of the Games of the new millennium.

While we were all impressed by the ceremonies we are here to compete and hopefully bring home some medals. Today there were practice races for Mistral M&W; Soling and Tornado. The results are unreliable as most competitors sail 2/3 legs of the course and sail in – bowing to the superstition that it’s bad luck to finish a practice race.

Tomorrow it begins in earnest. The Mistral M&W will sail on B course just to the west of Bradley's Head. The 49ers will sail a practice race on C course, in the middle of the harbour. Tornado race #1 will be on course D, referred to as the "washing machine" as it is located between the three Heads (North, South, Middle) where the water can be very confused due to the bounce back effect from the three sheer cliffs of the Heads. The Solings will begin their fleet racing series off Manly, just east of North Head on course F.

We are all prepared and wish our team the VERY best as they begin their competition.

September 15, 2000 - Opening Ceremonies

All dressed up . . . . . . Paul Foerster & Jeff MadrigaliOpening Ceremonies is a very special part of any Olympic Games and almost all athletes march in with their respective team and the USA Olympic Sailing Team was no different. All of our sailors returned to the athlete’s village by 4:00 p.m. to get into their parade uniform.Team Leader Hal Haenel & boardsailor Lanee Butler. They have been on two previous Olympic Teams together.

I took a Rivercat to the village and met up with the Team as they were getting ready to board their bus for the trip to the Superdome where they would await their entrance into the main Olympic Stadium. 100 metre world champ Maurice Green, who is living in the house next to the sailors in the athlete’s village, was also getting ready to march in. As we were preparing to take some Team photos, the USA women's tennis team walked by. Venus and Serena Williams, Monica Seles and Lindsay Davenport, looked just as good in their USA Olympic uniforms as our sailors, and of course our team could not resist a "photo op" with the tennis players.John Lovell, Venus & Serena Williams, Magnus Liljedahl

Outside the team house in the athlete's village. Jay Glaser, Skip Whyte, Ed Adams, Pierre Jeangirard and Barby MacGowan all took team pictures. We each had 3/4 cameras at our feet so we could get a picture on everyone’s camera. From the most veteran members of the team, Mark and Gebi (fourth time for each), to first-timers Pease, Magnus, John Myrdal, Russ, Bob, Craig and Hartwell, Opening Ceremonies is special.

Opening Ceremonies Begin!The ceremonies began at 7:00 p.m. with a very distinctive AUS look. I won't give away any secrets, but it was impressive, especially the lighting of the Torch.USA Flag

The athletes march in by country in alpha order. However, Olympic protocol dictates that Greece (as originator of the Games) is always first, and the host country is always last. Trivia question: In 2004 will Greece march both first and last? I do not know but welcome comments (jonathanrharley@ussailing.org) and I'll try to find the answer.

September 15, 2000

McKee brothers sailing for the NBC film crew.Camera mounted on 49er.Only a brief report today as the Team needs to leave the sailing venue at 3:00 p.m. to get to the athlete’s village to eat and dress before heading to tonight's Opening Ceremonies. Team Leader Hal Haenel interviewed by AP reporter Bernie Wilson.Some last minute interviews and sailing practice took up early part of day. Late yesterday we learned that USOC had some extra tickets for USOC-credentialed personnel so some of the coaches and myself will be able to attend the Ceremonies and view from the stands.

September 14, 2000 - Counting Down

470's Washing Down After SailingA very light wind early in the day made for some frustrations for all sailors, consequently time was spent catching up with last minute details. Both our 470 Teams went out briefly with coach Skip Whyte, as they had measured in on Wednesday and missed that practice day. I spent part of the day getting the Soling spinnaker cut down by about an inch so Madrigali, Healy & Jordan could go out sailing. There most likely will be little sailing tomorrow due to opening ceremonies.Hartwell Jordan

Jobson Interviewing Charlie Ogletree Gary Jobson came to the venue to tape interviews with every US Team member for use at a later date. Although he had some technical problems -- at times there were four or five helicopters overhead which drove the sound man nuts -- Gary managed to get 17 of the 18 athletes in this morning’s session. Also overhead was the Goodyear blimp. However, due to sponsorship concerns/conflicts, the Goodyear blimp reads G'DAY.

Goodyear Blimp Andy Kostanecki, USOC Secretary, stopped by to see how some of his old Team were doing. Mark Reynolds, Hal Haenel and Mike Gebhardt were on the 1988 Olympic Yachting Team when Andy was Team Leader. Andy is in Sydney on USOC duty until October 31. He will serve as the Chef de Mission (Team Leader) for the 2000 USA Paralympic Team.

Dinghypark at Rushcutters Bay The dinghy park is complete with all athletes and boats checked in. There will be 402 athletes who will compete at the 2000 Olympic Regatta. Word has it that all athletes will need to be inside the athlete’s village (at a yet undetermined time) in order to be able to march in Opening Ceremonies. For security reasons the only means of transport to the Olympic Stadium will be by busses from inside the athlete’s village..

Olympic Rings on the Sydney Harbour Bridge We also had, most likely, our last full team meeting at the house to go over some details of coaching assignments, coach boat usage, etc. We also had a "flag signing session" wherein our USA Olympic Flags were signed by every member of the Team to give to individuals who made a major contribution to the cost of our "home away from home." The team house at 38 New Beach Road has turned out to be a huge asset and we want to thank those who supported us. At 7:00 p.m. we witnessed a spectacular sight as the Olympic Rings on the Sydney Harbour Bridge were lit. It was a fitting way to finish up our meeting.

September 13, 2000 - Team Dinner

Reynolds, Adams, Glaser, Dey (in back), OgletreeToday’s highlights can be summed up in two words - Team dinner.

The training partners and personal coaches were invited to be our guests at a dinner tonight. Their job is a thankless one, lots of work and little recognition, but it is an integral part of every campaign.San Franciscans

Danille & John Myrdal, Luther CarpenterWe had arranged the dinner at a little Italian restaurant very near our team house (5 minute walk) for 6:00 PM. Much to the surprise of the owner we had 52 people show up (we had planned for 40) – from Charlie McKee's three- year old son to Mike Gebhardt's 77-year old grandmother. An excellent dinner for all concerned, and the owner of BEI AMICI, Peter Varvaressos announced that anyone who won a Gold medal and brought it to the restaurant would get a free meal while in Sydney.Magnus & Bei Amici owner Peter Vavaressos

Speeches and testimonials were given by Team Leader Hal Haenel, Team Captain Magnus Liljedahl, and Head Coach Gary Bodie.

All I did was pay the bill -- it was well under budget and appreciated by all!

September 12, 2000 - Team Captain

Team Captain Magnus LiljedahlToday was a very busy day for the entire team. We began the day with a Team meeting at which the 18 US sailors elected Star crew Magnus Liljedahl as their 2000 Sailing Team Captain. He is very proud of his new position and now is looking for a big "C" to put on his sailing gear as they do in hockey.

Team Leader Hal Haenel announced the winners of the USOC Opening Ceremonies ticket lottery. At previous Olympics USOC provided every US athlete with two complimentary tickets to Opening Ceremonies. For Sydney, however, USOC was only able to come up with 300 tickets and chose to hold a lottery for 150 pairs of tickets. US Sailing Team members who were lottery winners were: Courtenay Dey; Paul Foerster; Mike Gebhardt; Pease Glaser; Hartwell Jordan; Magnus Liljedahl; Jeff Madrigali and Charlie Ogletree. Eight winners out of 18 team members is a pretty good percentage, but it also means that none of these athletes will be eligible for Closing Ceremonies tickets, for which USOC has another 150 pairs of tickets.

The press requests have begun to pick up with NBC Sports.com wanting pictures of the entire team, while NBC-TV filmed a number of "Postcards from Sydney". Another film crew got some footage of Foerster/Merrick on their way to the racecourse, and Bob Ross of Yachting Australia interviewed Hal.JJ & Pease on camera

Hal and I spent an hour over lunch with Gary Jobson to find out what he wants to do, and how best to maximize his coverage of the US athletes. He will come to the team meeting Thursday morning to outline what he feels is best. He will interview each athlete and increase coverage following each days racing.

The sailing coverage will be carried on CNBC at 7:00 p.m. each evening (i.e. 7:00 p.m. eastern; 7:00 p.m. central; 7:00 p.m. mountain; etc.). It will follow 2 hours of boxing coverage and will be the lead story. Gary estimates about 5 minutes each race day and more as medals begin to become apparent.

470 SpinnakerMeasurement continues and more and more boats are seen sporting the Sydney 2000 graphics. All boats/sailors will have some specific ways to ensure easy visibility. Sails will sport the three-letter IOC country code, along with the skipper’s name and national flag, and will leave no doubt as to what country is leading. Each sailor will wear a bib with the three-letter code on front and back. Fleet leaders each race day will wear a gold bib and have a gold dot on their hull and sails. Second will carry blue bibs and dots, and third red. These will be changed every day as series leaders change.

Tomorrow is a big measurement day for the USA with Mistral W; 470 M&W; and Soling sails. Our team dinner will be tomorrow night and invitations have been extended to all the tuning partners and personal coaches.

September 11, 2000

Not too much to report today as there was much catching up to do with important things like cleaning the house in preparation for the arrival of family and friends of the athletes. Purchasing cleaning equipment for the house and balancing our AUS checking account occupied most of my day.

Bonnie Lambert, a friend of Courtenay Dey's who is a massage therapist/acupuncturist arrived. Bonnie has volunteered to work on any/all US team members. Mark Kennah, our local massage therapist, began work and will be at the Team house every day between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. to work on anyone in need of a massage. Mark worked with our athletes during the ’98 and ’99 Pre-Olympic regattas and has worked on/with Gebi and Lanee for the past two years.

Press requests/interviews have picked up with the San Francisco TV station KRON looking to interview Soling sailors Jeff Madrigali, Craig Healy and Hartwell Jordan, as well as Finn sailor Russ Silvestri. Another station wanted to interview Courtenay.

NBC-TV has arranged for David Bloom, anchor of WEEKEND TODAY, to sail a 49er with AUS designer Julian Bethwaite, which will be followed by a piece on the McKee brothers. NBC will also be filming 15 second spots with our athletes to say hello to friends and family back home, similar to the greetings from US servicemen/women aired around the Christmas holidays.

As a final note the Star and Tornado passed measurement with no problems. Tomorrow we will elect our Team Captain.

September 10, 2000 - Measurement

Today was the first day of Olympic measurement and our 49er and Soling were scheduled. Olympic measurement is like no other measurement a sailor will ever experience. The measurement manual is very detailed as to how to present your boat (dry) whether your mast is rigged or not, how much gear is aboard, etc.

Measurer Barry Johnson with sonograph. In the 49er class there is a requirement that all Olympic boats were to have been constructed after March 1, 1999. To ensure compliance, all licensed builders were required to hide a computer chip somewhere in the hull, centerboard and rudder during construction. This chip has a bar code indicating the builder and date built. In the accompanying photograph 49er Olympic measurer Barry Johnson is using a sonograph to locate the computer chip in the US 49er. The chips were not all placed in the same exact location on each boat built and it took Barry 15 minutes to locate the chip on the first boat he measured. He located the McKee's in about 2 minutes, but said he kept looking so no one would know where the chip was placed. Charlie McKee completes measuement. Once hull measurement is completed the identifying USA IOC code is applied, and as you can see Charlie McKee is very happy to have the process completed.

Our Soling went through measurement and also passed with no problems, except for a very small weight that needed to be added to the tip of the mast. The process took about 2 hours, and included the taking of approximately 800 different measurements. I had a chance to talk with Chief Olympic Soling Measurer Terry Polidor (Rochester, NY) during the process as he excused himself from the US boat measurement.

Soling with measurement templates. The boat is weighed and full hull templates are attached to insure the boat is a "legal" Soling. After measurement the three-letter IOC code USA is applied as well as Sydney 2000 graphics indicating we have a legal Olympic Soling. Soling sails will be measured later this week.Graphic Soling

To show how complete the measurement process in the Europe class is, the first boat entered the measurement tent at 9:30 a.m. and was still being measured at 5:00 p.m. The saying is "the smaller the boat the more complicated the measurement". Fortunately they are not measuring Optimists! ;-)

After a long day everyone headed home or to the village. The same process again tomorrow for our Star and Tornado teams.