Paralympic Sailing Regatta Day 3: Team USA Lead Tw

'Skud 18 - Day 3 2008 Paralympics' Dan Tucker Click Here to view large photo

Light and variable air forced extremely tight racing today in the Paralympic Regatta, but Nick Scandone (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Marblehead, Mass.) and John Ruf (Pewaukee, Wis.) sailed well and ended the day leading the SKUD-18 and 2.4 mR classes, respectively. After three hour postponements, sailors were finally able to get in one out of three scheduled races today, but it was more like a crawl than a race.

'We couldn't be happier that our team is on track and sailing fast and well,' said Head Coach Betsy Alison (Newport, R.I.). 'We're halfway through the regatta now and as long as we stay calm and focused, we'll get the job done. We're making the U.S. proud.'

The SKUD-18s and 2.4 mRs endured challenging conditions today on their shared course, including low pressure and 3-5 knots of wind in a transitional current. 'The conditions were the stuff they promised we wouldn't have and it turned out that we did,' said McKinnon-Tucker. 'It turns into a crap shoot because one little cat paw breeze or two waves crush you and you're done. It is so difficult to get speed.'

2008 Paralympics - Qingdao - Dan Tucker Click Here to view large photo

Once the SKUD-18 fleet started racing after 3 p.m. in light winds, boats from both sides of the first windward leg converged at windward mark. On the next run, they spread out slightly, and five countries led the pack: Great Britain, Malaysia, USA's Scandone and McKinnon-Tucker, Australia and Canada. The positions moved around slightly on the run, but the racing was very tight. On the final run through the gate on the way to the finish line, those same five boats appeared to be in an overlapping cluster. At the same time, there was so little wind that all of their spinnakers collapsed. 'They hung limp like dish rags,' said McKinnon-Tucker.

Suffering from a complete lack of wind, a pack of boats headed for the right gate and Scandone and McKinnon-Tuckler gybed into the left gate and passed everyone except the British, who finished first. Scandone/McKinnon-Tucker followed in second place, and Malaysia finished third.

'It was a very hard-fought race,' said McKinnon-Tucker. Their second place finish in today's race further established their overall lead, and they sit five points ahead of second-place Australia.

'Boat speed can make you feel smart, but when you don't have it, you're constantly wondering, 'are we doing the right thing?' said McKinnon-Tucker. 'It's difficult to be patient. We weren't going any slower than anyone else, even though we're going painfully slow. We knew the finish line would come eventually!' Her spirits were boosted by seeing her eight-year-old daughter, Dana, on the spectator boat, waving a homemade sign that read, 'Go Mom! Win the gold!'

Looking ahead to tomorrow, McKinnon-Tucker and Scandone hope for at least 5 knots of breeze. Their goal is to broaden their lead ahead of Australia and Canada, who sit in second and third place. McKinnon-Tucker also hopes the next few days of racing won't be as long as today, so they can conserve Scandone's energy. Scandone suffers from ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), a neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Every day is a challenge for him, and the support team makes sure he is getting the rest he needs.

The 2.4 mR started racing after the SKUDs on their shared course, but experienced even lighter breeze than the first fleet, which forced another tight race. 'It really becomes a game of who rolls the dice,' said Ruf.

Fortunately for Ruf, he grew up sailing on inland Pewaukee Lake in Wisconsin, where the air is typically light. 'It came in handy today,' he said. Ruf sailed a successful race today by seeking out the puffs and staying in the pressure downwind. The last downwind seemed to last an eternity, and at the last third of the beat, the wind shut off and the boats drifted past the finish line. 'It was complete misery,' he said. 'You didn't know where the wind was going to come from next. It was touch and go.' Ruf ended up finishing seventh in the race, but his closest rival in the overall standings, Canada's Paul Tingley, finished after him, pushing Ruf into first place overall.

The Sonar team of Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), and his crew, Tim Angle (Marblehead, Mass.) and Bill Donohue (Brick, N.J.), experienced slightly more breeze than the other two fleets, and they were able to race in 4 ? -6 knots on a short, double windward/leeward course. Doerr and his crew were in fifth place at the top of the windward leg, but when they gybed to port to catch a more advantageous current, the pressure filled in the opposite side of the race course. Unfortunately, their calculated risk didn't pay off, and they lost several boat positions on the final run, finishing tenth overall.

'They plan to go out and attack the race course tomorrow,' said Alison. 'They're looking forward to an awesome day on the water tomorrow.'

Because the racing is behind schedule, the Race Committee scheduled three races tomorrow, starting an hour earlier, at 12 noon. If they get three races in tomorrow, which will be nine races total, sailors will be able to drop their two worst scores. The regatta includes a total of eleven races over five days throughout the week. Medals will be awarded on the final day of racing, Saturday, September 13. There will not be a medal race in the Paralympic Regatta, unlike the Olympic Regatta last month.

Current Standings for U.S. Paralympic Sailors (For full results please visit ISAF's web site: www.sailing.org/24859.php)

SKUD-18: 11 boats

1. Nick Scandone (Newport Beach, Calif., USA) and Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Marblehead, Mass., USA), 2, 1, 1, 1, (3), 2; 7

2. Daniel Fitzgibbon and Rachael Cox, AUSTRALIA, (4), 2, 2, 2, 2, 4; 12

3. John Scott McRoberts and Stacie Louttit, CANADA, (3), 3, 3, 3, 1, 3; 13

Sonar: 14 boats

1. Bruno Jourdren, Herve Larhant and Nicolas Vimont-Vicary, FRANCE, 4, 1, 1, 2, (7), 1; 9
2. Colin Harrison, Russell Boaden and Graeme Martin, AUSTRALIA, (8), 4, 2, 3, 3, 3; 15
3. Jens Kroker, Robert Prem, Siegmund Mainka, GERMANY, 5, (6), 3, 1, 4, (11); 19

8. Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J., USA), Tim Angle (Marblehead, Mass., USA) and Bill Donohue (Brick, N.J., USA), 1, 9, 10, 6, (11), 10; 36

2.4 mR: 16 boats
1. John Ruf (Pewaukee, Wis., USA), 2, 6, 1, (9), 1, 7; 17
2. Paul Tingley, CANADA, 1, 1, 5, 2, (9), 9; 18
3. Thierry Schmiter, NETHERLANDS, 5, 3, 2, (10), 7, 1; 18

Online Information and Resources Updated Daily

For complete and up-to-the-minute regatta news and results, photos, behind-the-scenes blogs and U.S. Paralympic Sailing Team bios, please visit: olympics.ussailing.org/Olympics.htm

For more information about Paralympic Sailing from the International Foundation for Disabled Sailing (IFDS), please visit: sailing.org/ifds.php

About the United States Paralympic Team for Sailing

The athletes of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Team are selected, trained, and managed by US SAILING, national governing body for the sport of sailing. The top three athletes in each Olympic and Paralympic class are part of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the organization provides leadership for the sport of sailing in the United States. For more information about the athletes of the U.S. Olympic Team for Sailing, please visit www.ussailing.org.

by Marni Lane