Daytona Beach, FL
5/11/2000, 10:00 AM
By Zack Leonard
Light winds dogged the fleet on the
Sitting at the pole in the Northernmost starting slot the Dutch team of Gerard Loos and Mischa Heemskerk savored the spotlight after their huge victory yesterday. Loos joked with TV reporters and flashed surfer salutes to bikini clad spectators. But his lead in leg 4 was short lived. The fleet pushed off the beach into a light Westerly wind blowing straight off the beach. Like yesterday, the sailors had to choose either to run away from the shore into potentially better wind, or to reach along the beach in puffy, inconsistent breeze. Loos made huge gains yesterday by reaching close to shore while the rest of the fleet tried to get offshore. Today he chose to reach again, jumping out to a nice lead with clear air. The Dutch duo angled away from the beach under spinnaker oblivious of Smyth, who was about to pull an unbelievable hole-shot out of the fourth starting slot. Smyth sailed off the beach under spinnaker, caught a puff that lifted his windward hull, sailed right through the bad air of Brian Lambert and Jamie Livingston of Alexander's on the Bay, then doused his chute and tight reached right over Team Rudee's and Team Holland. He and Struble were in the lead 30 seconds after the start! A savvy fan on the beach set off a cannonade of firecrackers just as Team Blockade runner rolled into first and the crowd of 400 on the beach oohed with awe.
Smyth and Struble were relaxed this morning and didn't feel any extra pressure from the Dutch victory yesterday. Smyth said, "It's a big day, but the later legs will have far greater spreads." 16 Minutes is not a safe lead in this race.
Leg 4 could shake out much like leg three. The afternoon sea-breeze could shake up positions and invert the fleet. Some teams will work off shore hoping to ride the new sea-breeze over the pack racing along the beach. But yesterday's leg proved that it's smarter to wait along the beach for the breeze fill than to chase it off shore and sail more distance.
The shore crews and race officials are starting to gel into a real community. Jen from the Australian shore crew is running a pool that is way oversubscribed. One sailor has even bet against himself, drawing hoots of "Pete Rose" from his pals. At the skipper's meeting this morning, Mike Worrell exhorted the teams to work hard on developing chemistry, "some of you guys probably brought your drinking buddies along and they thought this was just a tour of beachfront bars." He cautioned first time volunteers, "This race really hasn't started yet. We're just finding the chemistry on the ground crews and staff. Your team is either going to gel or it's going to fall apart as the pressure builds in the upcoming legs." Worrell warned that the Tybee Island leg is like the wall in a marathon. Until that point everything is easy. The fleet is nearing the end of the sunny Florida beach legs and the tough stuff is just around the corner.
Check in this evening for a report on the finish and a look at the shore crews and support staff that make this race tick.
