14-0 Isn't All That Easy for Brady
April 11 - Long Beach
Rich Roberts reports from SoCal:
When Sean Clarkson says, "It was a
tough day," how does everybody else in the Long Beach Yacht
Club's 39th Congressional Cup feel?
Clarkson, the pitman on Gavin Brady's boat,
was making the point that Team Beau Geste running its unbeaten
record to 14 wins Thursday wasn't as easy as it might sound.
Brady was behind in all four races, starting
with an OCS (premature start) in the day's opener against Scott
Dickson of Long Beach and ending with a 12-second win over Jes
Gram-Hansen.
Brady also broke the hearts of Britain's
Chris Law and Sweden's Magnus Holmberg along the way.
"We had some huge comebacks,"
Clarkson said. "When it's shifty you have to be patient."
And it's easier to be patient when the
pressure's off. Brady maintained his four-match lead over Australia's
James Spithill, who also swept his slate to stand at 10-4 - the
only other winning record.
The dogfight for the other two places in
the semifinals is Friday. Ken Read, of Newport, RI, won three
of four to tie Italy's Paolo Cian at 7-7, followed by Dickson,
Law and Holmberg at 6-8. Gram-Hansen and his Scandinavian countryman,
Jesper Radich, are ranked 1-2 on the Swedish Match Tour scoreboard
but are struggling at 5-9, followed by France's Luc Pillot at
4-10.
The race committee plans to run only three
of the last four flights Friday, saving the 18th and last for
Saturday preceding the best-of-three semifinals and finals.
Winds were steady but light Thursday, teasing
the sailors with a sunny 6-8 knots that included a built-in 40-degree
shift to the right through the afternoon.
Clarkson and Brady, products of the Royal
New Zealand Yacht Squadron youth program, have been sailing together
for about 14 years, and this week they are back with other Kiwi
mates after spending the last couple of years with Prada's America's
Cup campaign.
"The boys are just having fun,"
Clarkson said. "When you're having fun there's no pressure."
Brady offered a different insight. "I
noticed that Sean, who is one of the fittest guys here, was sweating
all day," Brady said.
But Brady also appeared to be relaxed,
steering from a seat on the rail much of the time while his rivals
wrestled the Catalina 37s standing up.
His best moments Thursday were the comeback
against Dickson and a classic door slam against Law at the committee
boat before the start. Law started 15 seconds behind but still
managed to lead at the first windward mark.
Congressional Cup spectators on Belmont Pier have front-row seats
for pre-start jousting between Luc Pillot (2) and Paulo Cian.
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Gavin Brady circles back to restart after mistiming the start
against Scott Dickson.
Above and below: Chris Law, under pressure from Gavin Brady,
runs out of room behind the committee boat and had to circle
back the wrong way to start.
James Spithill bears down on Jes Gram-Hansen, who is trying to
complete a penalty turn at the finish line. Spithill won the
race.
All Photos Rich Roberts
"[Brady] fell behind in some [spectator]
boat wakes," Law said. "That was tough for him."
Brady finished no better than bow to bow
with Holmberg in his last race, but the Swede still owed a penalty
turn from a pre-start foul.
Read, with a 3-1 day, will face Law, Brady
and Radich today, while Dickson meets Spithill, Gram-Hansen and
Law. After a 2-2 day, he is clearly on the bubble.
The Congressional Cup again is being sailed
on the Catalina 37 sloops built for the event. A short windward-leeward
race course is set adjacent to Belmont Pier, where spectators
are welcome.
The event is being broadcast live on local
810 AM radio each day. The broadcasts are fed simultaneously
to Long Beach City College's Web site, klbc.org, which is available to anyone with
access to the Internet.
Also, about 15 minutes of edited streaming
video highlights are posted on the LBYC Web site, www.lbyc.org, every night.
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