Interview with Bundy and Gasby on the OCR win! Bundy spoke
being physically exhausted from sailing miles to the race course
Before everyone looks at the US Sailing website and listens to the propaganda as to what a great event the OCR is they should understand Bundy's comments.
Gary Bodie, our HIGHLY PAID Olympic Coach has NOT made the Tornado class event remotely world class.
The launch site is 13 miles from the race area! This launch was put together by one of the sailing teams years ago because the Miami Yacht club alternative set up by Bodie was even worse. US Sailing once again is unable to solve
this critical problem. Every other class gets to race within a short sail to their race course. The Tornado's sail through each and every fleet on their way to the bottom of Key Biscayne. Why they can’t shuffle some fleets
down the bay to share the inconvenience OR get enough tow boats to move the fleet around is not clear…. Maybe the coach should solve some of these problems!
FYI, The launch site is public launch ramp with a parking lot. Over time.. one of the Tornado teams worked out details with the park to manage their training before
the event.. So US Sailing's contribution THIS YEAR was .. OK .. Bodie will manage it and pay for the Park's usage... After all of these years US sailing needs to solve the real problem…. 13 miles to the race course is
silly! But not as silly as putting the official Notice Board at the US Sailing Center … oh.. 15 miles away from the nearest Tornado!
So given the current launch and regatta area. If the wind is questionable... What do you do... In 4 knots of breeze... 13 miles is a LONG SAIL. Most fleets can wait it out on shore... even for the Tornadoo the time it takes to get to the Race course... set the course and run the race
take HOURS. Fortunately PU guesses right most of the time and keeps the fleet on the parking lot.
If the breeze is on... you can do the miles quickly. BUT by the time you get the third race of the day. (1.5 mile legs) ... you are TOASTED... Oh yeah... you get to sail home again ... 13 more miles.
We call a 26 mile round trip sail … “a DISTANCE Race “!
So when Bundy says... they are exhausted... you can get a real sense of why that is so.
These problems are not new…. Its just a lack of leadership over years that fails to solve these problems.
Does the OCR have enough boats to get the fleet out to the course and back on a tow... No!
Do they have any RIBS and personnel that can assist a flipped Tornado... NO!
Hell... do they have anybody with experience who can set the pin... No!...
PU had to hop on a boat and set the damn thing himself the first time and then got one of the coaches to set it for him there after. Rumor has it that he used an 80 foot Hatteras to set the mark one time…
Bottom line.. the Tornado OCR is not a world class event by any standard of management. The sailors come because it is an ISAF grade one event...
Congratulations to all the sailors who do their best under tough conditions.… Boo to the crowd at US Sailing that does not resolve these problems year after year … yet tells the world… “what a great world class event we run…”
