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Olympic Regatta: USA Has Ups and Downs

ATHENS, GREECE (August 15, 2004) -- A fresh "Meltemi" breeze cooled things off today at the Agios Kosmas Sailing Center where the Olympic Regatta is being held, but the action heated up for the 400 sailors competing there. The 18-20 knot winds, with gusts to 25, gave the Finn, 470 (men and women) and Yngling classes a solid second day of competition and the Europe, Laser and Mistral (men and women) classes an action-packed start to their series.

Improving their position from third yesterday to second today was the 470 Men’s team of Paul Foerster (Rockwall, Texas) and Kevin Burnham (Miami, Fla.). Their boat speed blazed in race one when they crossed the fleet shortly after the start and sailed to a second-place finish to move into the fleet lead. The duo encountered difficulties in race two, however, fouling the Germans twice and having to do 720-degree circles as penalties for their infringements.

"We tried to pass them and didn’t make it, so we had to do our spins," said Foerster about the first incident, one minute after the start. "We caught up with them again after passing three or four boats, but then we set our spinnaker, and we just didn’t see them and hit them again.

"These were tough conditions. The leading medal team capsized and so did several others. We were just happy to finish. If it had been flat it would have been no problem, but there were swells that made the wind shift. It was totally different than what anyone has seen here."

The 470 Women’ team of Katie McDowell (Barrington, R.I.) and Isabelle Kinsolving (New York, N.Y.), also started out strong today, finishing third in the first race and then taking 12th in race two to move to 12th overall. "With a Meltemi, the race is never over," said McDowell. "Our third is a keeper." The team was in sixth for much of the race and then passed three boats on the last downwind leg. "We were in a great spot; being behind, you can attack." In the second race, the team’ downfall was going right when a "big lefty" came in. "We weren’t set up properly. It was really shifty, but not a rythmic shift. We blew out the spinnaker and did the last run wing-and-wing. We didn’ lose any boats, though, and up to eight boats capsized."

Like his 470 teammates, Laser sailor Mark Mendleblatt (St. Petersburg, Fla.) made a grand opening statement with a second-place finish in his opening race, then followed it with a 14th. He is in good position with a sixth overall and nine races to go. "I feel pretty good," said Mendelblatt, who is sailing in the largest fleet at the regatta with 42 entrants. "I just try to sail fast."

Finn sailor Kevin Hall (Bowie, Md./Ventura, Calif.) didn’t mind today’s conditions, only his positions in two races that counted after two were abandoned. "The racing was very exciting but I would have rather kept the first half of the day than the second half," said Hall, who was in third and first when the race committee called things off. "Then I had two not-so-great races." Hall stands in 13th overall.

Yngling sailors Carol Cronin (Jamestown, R.I.), Liz Filter (Stevensville, Md.) and Nancy Haberland (Annapolis, Md.) had a rough day, taking a 16th in the first race after starting off more favorably. "We can’t really attribute it to any one thing," said Cronin. "We just didn’t have very good downwind speed today. We basically just tried to sail too deep and wiped out." A tenth in today’s second race dropped the team from fifth overall yesterday to tenth today.

Europe sailor Meg Gaillard posted a 9-11 today to finish the first day of her series in tenth overall. "Sometimes I felt super smart and other times I felt like I had cotton in my head," said Gaillard, who added that she is calm about tomorrow’s racing, which is expected to be conducted in more high winds. "A lot of people will have ups and downs; there’s no point in stressing about it now. It’s only the first two races and it’s a long series."

Mistral sailors Lanee Butler Beashel (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) and Peter Wells (La Canada/Newport Beach, Calif.) are in 16th and 23rd overall, respectively. Beashel posted finish positions of 13-16 while Wells turned in a 25-21.

Over the course of the 15-day Olympic Regatta, all events will sail two fleet races on each day of the scheduled competition except the 49ers, which will sail three. To complete the series, all events will sail 11 races except the 49er class, which will sail 16 races.

What’s Next:  Racing continues tomorrow, Monday, August 16, for Europe, Finn, 470, Laser and Yngling classes, while the 49ers begin their series and the Mistral sailors take a day off. On Tuesday, August 17, Europes and Lasers continue sailing, Mistral sailors resume their series and Finn, 470, 49er and Yngling take reserve days.

Additional background information on the events, and the U.S. athletes, is available online at www.ussailing.org/Olympics/OlympicGames/2004/

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Current Standings of U.S. Sailors: (for full results http://www.sailing.org/olympics2004/)