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From www.starclass.org Human Interest US and foreign sailing teams are streaming into Miami. Everyday, more boats arrive at the US Sailing Center. Masts are stepped, shrouds are adjusted and rigs are tuned. At some point during the first day, the T shirts come off and the sailors start to work on their tans. The Australians, the South Americans and the South Africans have a base, but the Europeans look as if they have spent a lot of time indoors this winter. On the second or third day, teams launch their keelboats and keep their fingers crossed hoping that everything works and they haven’t forgotten to put their battens in their sails. While a few of the aspiring Olympians admit to having been skiing, most are playing it safe and not risking injuries so close to world championships and regattas that count for either qualifying their countries for the Olympics, qualifying for their Olympic teams or qualifying for more funding. Between cardio, core and strength training; eating; sailing and going through debriefing sessions, their days are full, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Like most of the other Star, Yngling, Laser and Laser Radial sailors who have come to Miami to train for upcoming Grade 1 events, John has rented an apartment for the sailing season and he gets around town on his bicycle. Unlike many of the other sailors, nothing is on the line for him. Competing in the Olympics means nothing to him. All he wants to do is learn how to sail a Star over the next five months. “I’m a marine biologist sailing for joy against the best sailors in the world,” said Manderson over a glass of red wine. He doesn’t have the strict regimen that a lot of the sailors on the circuit have, but sailing for ten or twelve days in a row has helped to tone the weekend warrior and put him in a great frame of mind. Manderson hasn’t totally put his profession behind him. In fact, he does research in the morning and is working on a project with the University of Miami’s Rosensteil School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, a campus that he can see every time he points his Star toward the northeast on Miami’s Biscayne Bay. My predictions are that this Snipe skipper known for his heavy air prowess will figure out the Star. His sabbatical may come to an end at the Star Western Hemispheres in Geneva, New York this May, but he’ll shine as a weekend warrior in District 1 events this summer and there will always be a twinkle in his eye when he reflects on his winter in Miami. ----------------- Journalist Lynn Fitzpatrick:
She provided extensive coverage of the Star class during the 2007 ISAF Sailing World Championships in Cascais, Portugal, on behalf of the class. As the only non-Chinese member of the Sailing Committee of the “Good Luck Beijing” Olympic Test Regatta in Qingdao, China in August 2007, she provided daily previews and recaps of all 11 Olympic Classes to the organizers for distribution to media throughout the world. She was also the primary written journalist covering the Monsoon Cup, the grand finale of the 2006-07 World Match Racing Tour. The regatta was held in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. Lynn capped off the year as one of two American journalists at the 21st Annual King’s Cup in Phuket, Thailand, the largest regatta in Asia. She is a member of the Miami-Dade County Olympic Development Committee. © Copyright 2007 by starclass.org |
