FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Marlieke de Lange Eaton, 401-683-0800
Dana Paxton, Media Pro Int'l for Rolex, 401-849-0220
US SAILING’S 2007
Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship
Top six teams hold positions; Barkow extends lead on fleet
Shoreacres, Texas, USA (November 16, 2007) – Sally Barkow (Nashotah,
Wis.) and her Team 7 crew took the gun in all three races today to solidify
her total score of an impressive 14 points at US SAILING’s Rolex
International Women’s Keelboat Championship. She and her crew – Debbie
Capozzi, Annie Lush and Amanda Callahan – are a full 15 points ahead of
second-placed Derby Anderson (Annapolis, Md.). Despite the shifty and tricky
conditions on Galveston Bay, the top six boats maintained their leads
established yesterday. With two races planned by Houston Yacht Club’s race
committee for the 39-boat fleet tomorrow, it is looking like Barkow may add
another champion’s title to her already impressive resume.
Close in third place is Cory Sertl (Rochester, N.Y.), who earned a second
and a pair of eights in today’s races for a total 36 points. Further back
are three skippers separated by a handful of points: Anna Tunnicliffe
(Plantation, Fla.), Nicole Breault (Old Lyme, Conn.) and Dominique Provoyeur
(Capetown, RSA).
For Provoyeur, sailing as Team Devonvale with Penny Alison, Kim Rew and Lara
Dugas, today’s racing – scoring a 3-2-4 – was redemption for yesterday’s
disappointing performance. “Yesterday’s racing didn’t go as well as we
planned,” she said. “I had the worst start of my life,” said Provoyeur. “We
were a minute late for the gun. It was really embarrassing. In the second
race, we blew the tack off the jib and lost 10 places. Luckily the jibs in
South Africa come with a cunningham eye so we used that as a sail tack.”
Getting the right combination of factors helped the team maintain its
overall spot. “In today’s first race, it was a little bit tricky for us, a
little switchy,” said Provoyeur. “We managed to position ourselves in the
fleet and play the shifts particularly well. We hung in there in the last
race and tried to stay in touch with the fleet. We had good boat speed and
got a jump on the fleet early on. We just covered, actually on the second
beats of both races we stayed in touch with the boats in front of us.”
The Devonvale team brought sails from South Africa to use as their charter
boat fee. “We get to use them, and then they stay on the boat when we
leave,” she said. “So it works for us too. The owners are happy they get to
try a new suit of sails form South Africa. Often they use Quantum sails and
not North, so they get a variety and get to try them.”
Going into tomorrow, the Olympic hopeful has a plan. “In the first race,
we’ll sail as we have been and get our best results,” she said. “After the
first race, we’ll see how it goes. We’ll do a quick tally of the points and
if we can cover someone in the fleet we will.”
Although she makes it look easy staying at the top of the fleet, Provoyeur
has spent the past two years seriously training for an Olympic berth in the
Yngling and sees this regatta as a perfect compliment. “It is more racing
really,” she said. “Two crew are part of Yngling crew, and Sally (Barkow) is
here and Sarah (Bury). The competition is still high here and it’s really
good racing for us. It’s a fantastic event; I love coming here. The wind
we’ve had has been fantastic and the hospitality is amazing. It gets better
and better every time.”
“I’m just looking forward to tomorrow,” said Provoyeur. “I think Sally has
taken it away and well done to her.”
For Sarah Bury (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), another Olympic hopeful, today
saw a move up from 11th to 10th overall. “I’m pleased how it went overall,”
she said. “It obviously started off well, coming fourth. We had good start
and got in good pressure, and ended up at the windward mark first. We made a
few bad choices and ended up fourth.”
In the second race Bury, racing with Martha Henderson, Katie Abbott and
Jennifer Provan, wasn’t as fortunate, finishing 24th, which becomes her
throwout, or discard, race. “We got a little impatient off the start,” she
said. “We saw an opportunity to tack and we tacked, and then fell back into
a lot of traffic. Once we started ducking boats and tacking, the next thing
you know we’re on the right side of the course. Then, the left side comes in
a bit and the whole fleet rounded in front of us. We tried to gain some
boats back and really didn’t.”
The last race somewhat split the difference of the two previous. “We didn’t
have a great start,” said Bury. “We learned from previous race, although we
took a bad lane, but stuck it out a bit and got ourselves a decent race.
Nothing stellar; kept it in there. The pressure was up and down and not
sailing the J/22s a lot we’re definitely more comfortable in the light
pressure. We’re still figuring out how trim and keep the boat going,
especially in the waves.”
Does Bury draw from her Yngling experience? “It is tough competition here,
just like at our Yngling events,” she said. “You can be up there and you
make one little mistake and not only two or three boats pass you, but you
have five or more nipping at your heels.”
Rounding out the top 10 places are Jo Ann Fisher (Annapolis, Md.) in
seventh; Chelsea Bethancourt (Shoreacres, Texas) in eighth and maintaining
her top local boat position; and Kathy Parks (Annapolis, Md.) in ninth
place.
Tonight the competitors have a free night, socially, and many will most
likely enjoy the Kemah Boardwalk, a famous Texas landmark featuring
amusements, shopping and restaurants. Under a tent on the lawn of the
Houston Yacht Club, daily first awards were handed out by PRO Jim Tichenor
along with the Kaenon Award, awarded to the team with the lowest score of
the day. Racing concludes tomorrow.
For results, please visit the websites www.ussailing.org/riwkc and the
Houston-specific www.riwkc.com. Daily racing videos will be available each
evening at 9pm (CST) on www.t2p.tv.
The Rolex IWKC title sponsor is Rolex Watch U.S.A. Other sponsorships to
date include: Platinum level - James & Camille Tichenor, Vince & Margaretta
Morvillo for Sea Lake Yacht Sales, and Societe Generale; Gold level - Kirby
Inland Marine, Port of Houston Authority, Channel and Lynchburg Shipyards;
Silver level - Sterling Bank, Houston Pilot's Association, Segue Websites,
Mount Gay Rum, Veolia Water and KO Sailing. The Rolex IWKC is a US SAILING
Championship and hosted by the Houston Yacht Club.
(end)
Day 3 Preliminary Results
Top 10 of 39 teams
Position, Boat name, Skipper, Hometown, Results, Total points
1. Team 7, Sally Barkow, Nashotah, Wis., 2-[16]*-3-3-2-1-1-1-1, 14
2. Derby Anderson, Annapolis, Md., 1-[22]-4-2-4-6-6-4-2, 29
3. Lucy, Cory Sertl, Rochester, N.Y. 5-7-1-6-3-4-2-[8]-8, 36
4. Anna Tunnicliffe, Plantation, Fla., 3-18-[21]-4-1-2-9-6-3, 46
5. Nicole Breault 4-[OCS]-14-1-5-8-7-3-6, 48
6. Devonvale, Dominique Provoyeur, Capetown, RSA, 6-[21]-2-12-15-5-3-24, 49
7. Black Socks, Jo Ann Fisher, Annapolis, Md., 10-20-8-9-6-[34]-8-5-7, 73
8. RIFT, Dana Bethancourt, Shoreacres, Texas, 17-9-[24]-8-9-3-11-12-14, 83
9. Sundog, Kathy Parks, Annapolis Yacht Club, 12-8-10-11-8-16-10-[22]-11, 86
10. Sunrise, Sarah Bury, 11-3-12-18-13-22-4- [24]-15, 98.00
* denotes ‘throwout’ or the race result that is discarded from total points