..lATEST fROM sTARRY wORLD..

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Going into the final day needed to finish ahead of the French and put a boat between us and Brazil to finish second in the regatta. Hamish Pepper from New Zealand had ten points on us so we needed him to make a mistake to have a realistic shot at passing him.
Our plan was to sail for a top five result focusing on the two boats closest to us and shoot for second.

The pin end of the line was 15 degrees favored for the first start and still 10 degrees favored for the second start under black flag (automatic disqualification for being over the line). We decided to push down to the favored end since we needed a good result. As we approached the line there was a boat parked close to the line in our way. With 30 seconds to go we were forced to make a big move to avoid the roadblock which hurt our acceleration.

We started at the pin end with Brazil below us and the Italians and French above. We had a good start but Brazil hit the line with more speed and we were forced to tack only minutes after the start. The first leg was shifty and once we got bumped into the second row there were no lanes to tack in. We battled our way up the leg and rounded in the top twenty in one of the tightest legs we have seen all regatta.

On the run we were able to break free low and when a good shift came we were one of the first to jibe. We worked the left down the run and made huge gains to round in the top ten, even with the lead pack. On the second weather leg we concentrated on boat speed, breaking into the top five but the two boats we had to pass were still ahead of us.

We did some quick math on the second downwind leg and decided the competition behind us in the results was far enough back and could not pass us in the regatta so we split from the leaders to try to pick up a few places. The move did not yield the results we were looking for and we lost a few more boats, but at least we made every effort.

Again we used our boat speed going to weather to pass 6 boats and get back to a "single digit" finish in ninth place for the race, and fourth overall in the 65-boat regatta with a talented field. It was an excellent result but we are slightly disappointed with the points we left on the table. We were one of the most well prepared teams and gave ourselves every opportunity to win the World Championships on our first try, but we will have to wait until next year.

The good news is that our result further solidifies our position as the #1 team in the United States and proves that we should have no problem qualifying the country for the Olympics next year in Portugal. The US Team put nine boats in the top 30 showing there will be tough competition for the US spot in 2008. Our US competition showed up to the Worlds with new technology, multiple coaches and coach boats, and will be gunning for us in the US Team Pre-Trials next week in Marina Del Rey, CA.

We will be in Marina Del Rey for the US Team Pre-Trails on Oct 15th through the 23rd to test the waters and wind in the venue that will be used for the US Team trials one year from now. We will have both our boats in LA and anyone interested in sailing against the top US Teams (and a few top international teams) can talk to us about chartering USA 8156. The boat was fully prepped for the worlds and as fast as ever. We would even consider selling her to the right supporter – shoot us an e-mail if you are interested.

We have exactly one year until the US Team Trials Regatta which decides who will represent the United States in Beijing in 2008. Some of our US competition is well funded, even salaried, and do not have to worry about fundraising. We are supporting our sailing through our jobs at Luna Rossa and LNR Partners and still wracking up some substantial debt. We have received some generous donations from our supporters and sponsors, but we have a long way to go to Beijing.

Thank you to all our supporters who have sent us e-mails over the last week, and especially to the few who have sent donations. Thank you to our suppliers Sperry Top-Sider, Harken, Kaenon Polerized, Patagonia, JCD and our employers Prada/Luna Rossa and LNR Partners, Inc. Thank you to our coach, James Lyne, our host, Donna Wotton, and all of our families and friends who came out to cheer us on. It really makes a difference when we leave the dock to have all of you onboard with us.

Cheers!

Andy & Brad

Tip of the week: Preparation is King. In order to be a top competitor you need to check as many things off the list before you even start a race. We were on site practicing a week before the event and one of the first to leave the docks each day to ensure we had all the information we needed to win.

pic&txt via www.sailinganarchy.com