Who's got an inside line on the Tornado results?

Winds 12-15 knots on Biscayne Bay for the first day of racing, Feb. 14. Two-time Olympians John Lovell (New Orleans, La.) and Charlie Ogletree (Houston, Texas) won their two races, while their long-time rivals Lars Guck (Bristol, R.I.) and Jonathan Farrar (Niantic, Conn.) finished second to them in both. Following, tied on points in the 8-boat fleet, are Stan Schreyer (Woodbury, N.J.) and Forbes Durdin (Houston, Texas) with finishes of 4-3, and Robbie Daniel (Clearwater, Fla.) and Enrique Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) with 3-4.

Thanks Mary! You seem to be the only one to find out how the Secret US Tornado Trials are going. Keep us up to date.

Went to see the NOOD yesterday in St Petersburg. There must have been over 150+ boats out there. When the racing was called for weather there was a huge swarm of sail boats that went past the pier to the Municipal Harbor. Looked like only three or four big tris. I got some photos but will have to wait until our Webmaster returns from Disney before we can put them on our site.

Found it
http://www.regattaweb.net/USSAOlymp...pic_Team_Trials_-_Sailing_-_Tornado.html

Here are the results after Day 2 of the Trials. I don't know what the weather was like in Miami, but in the Keys it was raining on and off most of the day. I'll probably be getting an e-mail report tonight.

Pos Sail Boat Skipper Crew 1 2 3 4 Total
Points Pos
1 USA 808 Team Lovell/Ogletree Lovell Ogletree 1 1 1 2 5.00 1
2 USA 838 Team Koch Eye Guck Farrar 1/RDG 2 2 4 9.00 2
3 USA 804 Suncoast Sailing Daniel Rodriguez 3 4 4 1 12.00 3
4 USA 837 Schreyer/Durdin Schreyer Durdin 4 3 3 3 13.00 4
5 USA 818 Camp Cromwell 6 5 5 6 22.00 5
6 USA 813 Team SailingWind Grandfield Stunzi 5 6 8 5 24.00 6
7 USA 839 Crown Racing Thinschmidt Wierda 7 7 6 7 27.00 7
8 USA 836 Chu Selsmeyer 9/DNF 9/DNF 7 8 33.00 8

Here is a report from Jill Nickerson of the Suncoast Sailing Campaign (Robbie Daniel/Enrique Rodriguez):

As many of you already are aware, we have started the US Olympic Trials. The racing of the trials began on Saturday, February 14, and will end on Sunday, February 22. Racing will take place in the middle to Southern end of Biscayne Bay.

Prior to the beginning of racing all competitors were required to go thru a vigorous measurement process which includes measuring many different entities of the boat. This process requires you to disassemble much of your boat, measure in, attach any required corrector weights, then put it all back together. In addition to the parts on the boat, each team was allowed to measure in 2 sets of sails.

Something that is different this year is that they are allowing some equipment changes when we get to middle of the event which is on Wednesday. Some teams will take that opportunity to switch out sails, masts or other equipment that they may not be happy with.

Unlike Tornado Olympic Trials of the past, this years event, at least for the Tornado Class, has lacked any of the formalities or pomp and circumstances normally found in an event of this level. Although some of the classes that are being hosted by other clubs around the bay have had opening ceremonies, champaign celebrations and such, the Tornado class found them selves lucky to have a member of the Olympic Committee do a very informal, last minute registration of competitors. Undaunted, the Tornado participants have managed to somehow get thru this disappointment and more.

The event was scheduled on top of the Miami boat show, but more importantly, two convenient, safe, and close to the race course launching sites were completely ignored by organizers as they opted to have the boats sail out of the Miami Yacht Club. This requires the boats to sail thru 5 bridges, with two double bridges that make passage treacherous at times. One of the double bridges is located in the heart of the boat show and commercial boat traffic area. The boat traffic, coupled with no wind, high current and narrow passage, makes it quite dangerous to get the fleet thru twice a day. The coach boats make every effort to assist the boats by either pulling them thru or holding up boat traffic but find them selves often in a verbal confrontation with the locals who do not like to wait for the boats to make it thru the bridge. During a difficult passage, one of the commercial tourist boat captains stood on the bow of his boat and pretended to shoot the sailors. In addition to making it thru the maze of bridges, the sailors have approximately 1 hour long sail to get out to the race course in reasonable wind.

Our day starts at 7:30AM when we all get up and eat some breakfast as we print out weather information from the computer to review during breakfast. After a short drive to the Yacht Club, we start preparing for the day, load up the coach boat with spare parts, food, clothing and what ever else we can fit in it. We leave the beach at 11AM to get to the race course for the start of the first scheduled of two races, at 1PM.

Most all of the training time that has been spent in Miami has been in light wind. Like many regattas, the first two days have been in rough wind and seas and has included some rain.

The first race of the series was started in about 14 knots of wind. Although challenged at the end of the race, the first race belonged to John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree. Due to a considerable amount of confusion with the support boats for the race committee, there was an anchoring problem that gave Lars Guck and Jonathan Farrar the opportunity to protest the finish. The result was a redress of score from second to 1st. After that ruling was made, Lovell/Ogletree filed a protest that will be heard later in the event.

The second race saw similar wind, and once again Lovell/Ogletree took and kept the lead with Guck/Farrar close behind.

After feeling a little overpowered for the conditions, Robbie Daniel and Enrique Rodriquez, made some adjustments to prepare for the next day of racing.

The second day saw horrible conditions with high winds and rain. As a prelude to the day the race committee put up a map showing the location of the nearest hospital to the course.....they even have a dock! Despite the conditions, all the boats and their coach boats left the beach and when most mariners were coming in from the storm, they all headed out to the Bay. During the ride out....and oh what a ride....we saw lots of heavy rain, rough seas and 20 plus knot gusts. After about an hour beating up wind in these conditions we found ourselves once again on the course.

The race committee was right on time and started the first race at 1PM. The first race was started in 13 knots and the sailors found similar conditions as the previous day. At the first down wind leg, it was Daniel/Rodriquez in the lead followed closely by a pack of 3 boats. While turning thu the gate, a freak thing happened on their boat where the flap for the trampoline got caught in their traveler car, similar to catching your coat in the zipper. By the time they were able to repeatedly kick the car to get it unstuck, they had dropped to fourth. Lovell/Ogletree won out over Guck/Farrar followed by Schryer/Durdin.

Undaunted by the disappointment, Daniel/Rodriquez came back strong in the next race, taking the lead early on and building it thru the end of the race followed by Lovell/Ogletree and Schryer/Durdin.

Although a slower start than they had hoped for, Daniel/Rodriguez working hard to keep moving up during the next 6 days of scheduled racing.

Here are the results after Monday's races, which reportedly were sailed in a dying northerly breeze.

Pos Sail Boat Skipper Crew 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total
Points Pos
1 USA 808 Team Lovell/Ogletree Lovell Ogletree 1 1 1 2 1 [3] 6.00 1
2 USA 838 Team Koch Eye Guck Farrar 2 2 2 [4] 2 1 9.00 2
3 USA 804 Suncoast Sailing Daniel Rodriguez 3 [4] 4 1 4 2 14.00 3
4 USA 837 Schreyer/Durdin Schreyer Durdin [4] 3 3 3 3 4 16.00 4
5 USA 818 Camp Cromwell [6] 5 5 6 6 5 27.00 5
6 USA 813 Team SailingWind Grandfield Stunzi 5 6 [8] 5 5 7 28.00 6
7 USA 839 Crown Racing Thinschmidt Wierda 7 7 6 7 [8] 8 35.00 7
8 USA 836 Chu Selsmeyer [9/DNF] 9/DNF 7 8 7 6 37.00 8

49er, Tornado and Yngling sailors competing in South Florida will have a long afternoon ahead of them today on
Biscayne Bay where light winds have disrupted the day’s racing schedule. As of 1400 hours, sailors in the 49er class had completed one race before being postponed on the water. In the Yngling fleet, two races were abandoned,
with sailors in that class also postponed on the water. The Tornado also was under postponement, although ashore, and are now heading out to their course where a northwest breeze is filling. They will not start their first
race before 1430.

Report from Tuesday, the 4th day of racing:
Sailing from Miami Yacht Club with a 1300 start time, the Tornado fleet was postponed ashore before the breeze filled from the northwest and allowed them to get underway at 1430. Two-time Olympians John Lovell (New Orleans, La.) and Charlie Ogletree (Houston, Texas) won both races today. They carry eight points for the overall lead position in their eight-boat fleet. Lars Guck (Bristol, R.I.) and Jonathan Farrar (Niantic, Conn.) finished 2-3 for second overall with 14 points, while Robbie Daniel (Clearwater, Fla.) and Enrique Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) moved up to third overall with 20 points after finishes of 4-2 today.

Wednesday is a lay day, and racing resumes Thursday for four more days.

10 races sailed with Lovell/Ogletree in the lead

1 USA 808 Team Lovell/Ogletree Lovell Ogletree 12.00 1
2 USA 838 Team Koch Eye Guck Farrar 17.00 2
3 USA 804 Home Depot Daniel Rodriguez 28.00 3
4 USA 837 Schreyer/Durdin Schreyer Durdin 29.00 4
5 USA 818 Camp Cromwell 45.00 5
6 USA 813 Team SailingWind Grandfield Stunzi 51.00 6
7 USA 839 Crown Racing Thinschmidt Wierda 61.00 7
8 USA 836 Chu Selsmeyer [9/DNF] 9/DNF 69.00 8


I looks like Lovell/Ogletree are on their way to their third olympics.

John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree won the Olympic trials. I guess that means they are going to Athens..

This is the report from Sunday, the final day of racing:

After trading wins yesterday with Lars Guck (Bristol, R.I.) and Jonathan Farrar (Niantic, Conn.), two-time Olympians John Lovell (New Orleans, La.) and Charlie Ogletree Houston, Texas) put the hammer down in today’s first race, turning a sizeable lead into a win. When Guck and Farrar crossed the finish line fifth, Lovell and Ogletree became mathematically unbeatable. Both teams elected to sit out the final race of the series, and the winners collected 16 net points to the 24 points netted by Guck and Farrar. Robbie Daniel (Clearwater, Fla.) and Enrique Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) placed 3-3 to retain third place overall with 38 points.

The winners of these Trials now become members of the USA’s 2004 Olympic Sailing Team wich will compete be next August in the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens, Greece. For complete results:
www.ussailing.org/olympics/OlympicTrials/2004/.