| Day
1: U.S. Olympic Star Class Trials - Doyle Sweeps
First 2 Races --– Give That Man a Gold Star
Saturday's
wind: NE 19 knots, gusts above 20.
Sunday's forecast (by Chris Bedford): Wind NE, 8-13
knots.
By Rich Roberts
For YachtRacing.com
Photo
boat captain Daryl Saunders.
MIAMI,
Fla.---Eric Doyle and Vince Brun are the only two
of four world Star class champions competing for
the U.S. Olympic berth on Biscayne Bay who are flying
the gold star on their main sails that distinguishes
them from their peers.
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Paul
Cayard and crew Phil Trinter twice nailed
a pin-end start and stand third overall. Photo
© Rich Roberts / YachtRacing.com
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That's
the point, said Paul Cayard (1988), who suspects
it had made him a bit too conspicuous. "Have
you seen how many black flags [for early starts]
I've had lately?" he said.
Mark
Reynolds ('95 and 2000) also flies the standard
red star, but Doyle
('99) and Brun ('86) go for the gold.
"I
earned it," Doyle said. "I'm proud of
it. They don't give 'em away for nothing. I say,
show it off."
It
didn't seem to handicap Doyle and crew Brian Sharp
Saturday when they won the first two of 16 scheduled
races of the trials in 19 boat-busting knots of
northeast breeze, with gusts above 20.
Out
of the gate it's a California stampede. The top
six skippers are Doyle, San Diego; Howie Shiebler,
San Francisco; Reynolds, San Diego; Cayard, San
Francisco; George Szabo, San Diego, and Rick Merriman,
San Diego.
Brun,
also San Diego, with crew Mike Dorgan, also appeared
to be in the hunt but was cited for an early start
in the first race but after finishing seventh was
disqualified for failing to return to restart.
Maybe
Cayard and Reynolds were on to something.
Although
racing was scheduled for noon, the 22 competitors
were kept ashore until 11:35 a.m. because the US
Sailing race committee didn't want to put boats
at undue risk in big wind on opening day of a nine-day
grind.
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Eric
Doyle and Brian Sharp led Andy Lovell/Magnus
Liljedahl (8061) and Paul Cayard/Phil Trinter
(8159) on the offset leg at the top of the
course. Photo © Rich Roberts / YachtRacing.com
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The
first race started at 1:30, and the fears came partly
true. Two boats were dismasted. Andy Lovell, New
Orleans, and crew Magnus Liljedahl's spar broke
in the middle when they were in second place behind
Doyle on the second downwind leg to the finish.
They were unable to start the second race---thus,
their two throwouts are already spent.
Bill
Allen, Highwood, Ill., and crew Brad Lichte also
lost their spar.
Cayard
had a close call on the first run of the second
race when his boat momentarily flew out of control.
"We
rounded down," he said. "We were very
lucky not to lose the mast."
How
rough was it? Doyle's left eyebrow was cut and swollen.
"I
yelled at Brian and he whacked me," he said.
Explanation
No. 2: "I got hit with the whisker pole when
we jibed."
Otherwise,
Doyle and Sharp, who have been sailing together
only since December, thrived in the conditions.
"When
we saw it was windy we thought it would be pretty
good," he said. "We've been working on
our heavy weather stuff."
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First-day
double winners Eric Doyle (right) and Brian
Sharp. Look closely at Doyle's left eyebrow
for evidence of a slugfest of sailing. Photo
© Rich Roberts / YachtRacing.com
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In
the first race they started in the middle of the
line and led at every mark, playing the favored
left side of the course. In the second race they
took the lead on the second upwind leg.
Szabo
said, "I don't know what Eric's doing but he's
pointing really high."
Doyle
didn't necessarily agree but did say, "There
was definitely nobody faster than us."
Leaders
(22 boats, 2 of 16 races):
1.
Eric Doyle/Brian Sharp, San Diego, 1-1, 2 points.
2. Howie Shiebler/Will Stout, San Francisco, 3-3,
6.
3. Mark Reynolds/Steve Erickson, San Diego, 5-2,
7.
4. Paul Cayard/Phil Trinter, San Francisco, 2-6,
8.
5. George Szabo/Mark Strube, San Diego, 4-5, 9.
Complete
standings: www.ussailing.org/olympics/olympictrials/2004
Full
Day 1 Gallery
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