2005 Grey Goose ISAF Team Racing World
Championship Primer for Racing Enthusiasts
NEWPORT, RI (October 11, 2005) It was a
primer for what makes sailboat racing truly exciting with a
lightning-fast pace that made it worthy of airing on MTV and brought
sailing enthusiasts to the edge of their bleachers. Yes, bleachers,
which were full at the recently contested 2005 Grey Goose ISAF Team
Racing World Championship held
NYYC Photo
Competitors maneuver on the
racecourse in heated action
in the City-by-the-Sea, Newport,
R.I., from September 24-October 1 and hosted by New York Yacht Club from its
Harbour Court clubhouse.
Bringing together all the elements that appeal to a
generation of sailors brought up on short-attention-span programming, team
racing pits one three-boat team against another in races that take, at most,
seven minutes to complete. Internationally flavored (16 teams representing
10 nations), visually striking (colored sails on the Vanguard 15s made
following the action easy), and imbued with its own peculiar lingo (boats
were double-teamed or gapped), the 2005 Grey Goose ISAF Team Racing World
Championship hit all the right notes, like favorite tunes on an IPOD.
The field of play was Narragansett Bay off Goat Island,
located just a short walk from downtown Newport and home to the oldest
lighthouse in the city, the Newport Harbor Light, which provided a historic
backdrop
Photo by Ann-Marie Trapani
Waiting for the action to begin
for the boat rotation. A festival
atmosphere prevailed there during the championship and competitors could
watch the action and mingle with the locals who turned out in force
during lunchtime. Live commentary provided by Tufts University sailing
coach Ken Legler (one of the sport's most enthusiastic cheerleaders)
left no
doubt as to what
was taking place a mere 50 yards away on the water.
After five days of
round-robin racing, the final day was a "first-to-three wins" format that
saw the original 16 teams winnowed from contention for the championship
crown. Australia 2, in 13th place overall, won the Grey Goose League sailed
among the first four teams to be knocked out (the Czech Republic, Japan 2
and Canada finished, respectively, 14th through 16th). The pulse of the
event quickened during the quarterfinal rotation as both Irish teams were
eliminated followed by New Zealand 1 and Italy. Those teams then completed a
sail off that determined their overall positions for the championship with
IRL 2 coming in fifth, followed by IRL 1, ITA and NZL 1.
The quarterfinal
results then set the stage for a showdown between the two superpowers of
team racing Great Britain and the USA -- in the
semifinals which paired USA 1 against GBR
1, each sailing with team racing world champions, and USA 2 against GBR
2. Although the USA teams cleaned up in both pairings, with win-loss
records of 3-0, Great Britain didn’t go down without a fight. The
American teams
Photo by Dan Nerney
Fast and furious action on the bay...
had come into this
regatta very well prepared, having spent a considerable amount of time
training and competing in Vanguard 15s, the boat that was supplied for this
championship.
In the end, the
all-USA final was a nail biter. USA 2, with Patrick Hogan (Newport Beach,
Calif.), Carlos Lenz (Clearwater, Fla.), Pete Levesque (Portland, Maine),
Liz Hall (Tiverton, R.I.), Colin Merrick (Portsmouth, R.I.) and Amanda
Callahan (Canton, Mass.) showed plenty of speed. But the defending champions
--Team Whishbone, a.k.a. USA 1 -- with Tim Fallon (N. Falmouth, Mass.),
Karen Renzulli (Needham, Mass), Mark Ivey (Hungtington Beach, Calif.), Matt
Lindblad (Newport, R.I.), Tim Wadlow (Beverly, Mass.), and Ery Largay
(Osterville, Mass.), demonstrated both composure and skill in the
light-to-moderate breeze with their decisive moves. After USA 1 led the
finals with back-to-back wins, USA 2 returned to win a thrilling race three.
USA 1, adept at anticipating umpire calls and moving right to the next play
came back in the fourth race to clinch the championship.
"There was some
classic team racing strategy and whoever executed better would win," said
Team Whishbone's Tim Fallon of the final series
NYYC Photo
USA 1, Team Whishbone
L-R, Tim
Fallon, Karen Renzulli, Ery Largay,
Tim Wadlow,
Matt Linblad and Mark Ivey
-- the
2005 Grey Goose ISAF Team Racing
World
Champions
in which USA 1
beat training partners/friends/rivals USA 2, the Silver Pandas. "That
was definitely the highlight of the event, and it was especially nice to
be able to win a regatta while our friends and family were there."
After 270
races, the celebration that concluded the championship included two
special recognitions that perfectly complemented the racing awards.
Receiving the Most Improved Award
was the team from Italy, which included an Olympian and several Opti
champions. With little team racing experience, ITA made steady progress over
the course of the event, eventually climbing out of the silver fleet to
finish seventh overall in their first world championship. The Spirit of the
Regatta Award was given to Ireland 2's Fergal O'Shea. A leprechaun of a
skipper, with endearing charm and endless enthusiasm for the competition,
O'Shea was nominated by his fellow sailors to unanimous approval.
Off-the-water
discussions during the regatta -- among not only competitors but also
organizers -- ranged from using the team racing format to interest more kids
in sailing (taking the emphasis off individual abilities by pairing sailors)
to limiting the number of teams entered in the regatta (i.e. whether to
follow the one boat per country scenario of other world championships). The
underlying question of how to draw more sailors to participate in this
format of racing comes down to spreading the word -- because who doesn't
want to have this much fun?
"All those who
have been touched by the 2005 Grey Goose ISAF Team Racing World Championship
have seen and felt the growing passion
within this strong sport," said GBR 1's
Steve Tylecote, who collected his fifth medal at this event -- his sixth
world championship. "The human development rewards are high and
commitment to help this truly special sport move ever onward has been
energized. Future high-level international competition and grass roots
activity will
Photo by Matthew Cohen
The 2005 Grey Goose ISAF Team Racing
World Championship competitors
gather
at the New York Yacht Club's
Harbour Court clubhouse
benefit from this
powerful and exciting event experience as we all spread the mantra that Team
Racing is a precious jewel in the crown of sailing activities."
In addition to
title sponsor Grey Goose, supporting sponsors were North Sails, Vanguard
Sailboats, Ribcraft Inc., Ronstan, Sailing World and Sentient Jet
Membership. Suppliers were American Lighthouse Foundation, Bagel Boys, Barry
Motors, Challenge Electronics, Conanicut Marine Services, Crystal Spring
Water Company, Heineken, Hyatt Regency Newport Hotel and Spa, International
Yacht and Athletic Club, J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, Jailhouse Inn, Jamestown
Ferry, Newport Harbor Hotel, Newport Lobster Company, Newport Tent, North
Flags, R.I. State Yachting Committee, Rolex Watch U.S.A., Sailing Foundation
of New York, and Team One Newport. The organizing authority for the
championship was NYYC, ISAF and US SAILING, the United States' Member
National Authority (MNA) of ISAF.
Complete results,
competitor bios and photos are available at the NYYC’s website at
Final standings for the 2005 Grey Goose ISAF
Team Racing World Championship:
