Human Interest
Still Crazy After All These Years
By Lynn Fitzpatrick, WorldRegattas.com
May 27, 2009, 16:17

Photos by Lynn Fitzpatrick

“Swifter, Higher, Stronger” is familiar to many here, yet for of some of the familiar faces making appearances at the Olympic classes regattas this year the motto may be “Older, Wiser, Well-heeled”… and today they had plenty of time to be pensive. While many of these athletes are stepping into the Star class and wanting to make better use of their time than waiting for the twists and turns of the America’s Cup bickering to be sorted out, one America’s Cup skipper is at the Delta Lloyd Regatta at the helm of a 470. At less than 75 kilos, Paolo Cian, is a bit small for the Star, so he is steering a 470.

Paolo Cian

Cian is used to being at the helm of big boats in close quarters. He worked with Captain Sarno and Tomaso Chieffi to develop the America’s Cup team from South Africa, Shosholoza. He earned his stripes on the World Match Racing Tour and holds a card for this year’s tour.

Cian began racing 470’s over 20 years ago and was ranked 3rd by ISAF for two years and finished 2nd in the national trials for the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1996. Putting the 470 behind him, he started sailing Solings in 1998. As part of his Soling Olympic campaign he immersed himself in match racing and just missed qualifying for the Sydney Olympics.

While Cian sat with his Italian teammates in the café at the Medemblik sailing center waiting for the Race Committee’s decision as to whether they would send the fleet out for their third race of the day or they would abandon, he reflected on his return to the 470; this time steering Olympian Andrea Trani around the course. Laughs Cian, “The equipment is different. This boat is waterproof. Last time, we couldn’t afford to stop bailing.” Cian admits that more often than not he lines up at the committee boat end of the starting line. Looking around the café and out to the deck through bay window, Cian spotted many 470’s sailors whom he used to compete against. One notable difference, “Now they are coaches.”

A lot of people were huddled for warmth in the café and out on the patio. They had been there for hours waiting in their wetsuits, dry suits, hats and various other layers of clothing. The wind was up and many of the fleets had been called in before their final race of the day was sailed. While the winds built throughout the afternoon and the early evening, many grew vocal about their discomfort and the indecision. Cian, was no different than the rest, his wool cap and his gear remained on. “We had three races scheduled and sailed two races in 25 knots. I can’t think of another sport in which the competitors would be idled indefinitely.”

Lars Grael and Robert Scheidt

In the meantime, Lars Grael, with two Olympic Bronze Medals dating back to the 1980’s and 1990’s, thought about the beaches in Brazil, his bent mast, ripped sail and frozen crew and it all came back to him why he has sailed in warmer climates for the past 14 years. Others who had water flow down the inside of their neck seals and seep through every layer include: David Tabb, Tim Kroger and Craig Monk. Monk earned his Olympic Bronze Medal in the Finn in 1992 and is involved in an America’s Cup effort. He said earlier in the week, “If you had asked me 20 years ago if I would be doing this again I would have said you were crazy.”

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