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1998 Rolex Award Winners

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Giovanni Soldini &
Dawn Riley

Balance Bar meets the Brazilian Navy
1998-99 Around Alone Race

US Sailing Rolex Nominees

US Sailing has named the sailors on the short list for the annual Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the year awards.  The nominees were named by US Sailing Members.  Final selection is by a panel of sailing journalists.  Winner will be announced March 15.

Rolex Yachtsman of the Year nominees are listed below:

• Melges 24 World Champion Vince Brun (San Diego, Calif.);   
  -Mumm 30 World Champion Ed Collins (W. Dover, Vt.);
  -Star World and North American Champion Eric Doyle (San Diego, Calif.);
  -470 Men's National Champion and Olympic Trials winner Paul Foerster (Rockwall, Texas);
  -505 World and North American Champions Howard Hamlin (Long Beach, Calif.) and Mike Martin (Seal Beach, Calif.);
  -Lightning Pan Am Games Gold Medalist and Lightning North American Champion -Andy Horton (Shelburne, Vt.);
  -World and North American DN Iceboat Champion Ron Sherry (Detroit, Mich.);
  -Alter Cup, Worell 1000 Champion and 1982 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Randy Smyth (Ft. Walton Beach, Fla.)
  -Snipe North American and National Champion George Szabo (San Diego, Calif);.

Rolex Yachtswomen of the Year Nominees are as follows

• Pan Am Games Gold Medalist and Mistral Trials winner Lanee Butler (Aliso Viejo, Calif.); ISAF
  -World Youth Bronze Medalist Amanda Clark (Shelter Island, N.Y.);
  Rolex
  -International Women's Keelboat Champion Pat Connerney (Middletown, R.I.);
  _Snipe Women's National Champion Carol Newman Cronin (Jamestown, R.I.);
  _Adams Cup Champion Joan Hurban (Palisades, N.Y.);
  -Santa Maria Cup Winner Dawn Riley (San Francisco, Calif.)
  -third-place Santa Maria Cup finisher Dru Slattery (Marblehead, Mass.).

Miami Olympic Classes Regatta

Day 3 of the USA's only Grade 1 Olympic Class event sailed in fine easterly winds.  Today will be the final day of racing.

Soren Jonnsen of Denmark has locked up the Europe class with 7 wins in 10 races.  Top USA sailor is Amanda Clark in 3rd.

In the Finn class Canadian Richard Clarke has taken a comfortable lead from Mark Herrman of the USA.  The lead is 14 points as Hermann had a bad day 3 which included an OCS.

Sweden's Karl Suenson has been overtaken by American Mark Mendenblatt in the 62 boat Laser fleet.  Mendenblatt will attempt to win his second consecutive OCR title today.

The team of Lovell and Ogletree has a nice 6 point lead in the Tornado class.  A 3 race winning streak helped grow this lead.  2nd is Guck and Schaffer followed by Daniel and Bernier.

The Start fleet sees 3 American teams in the top 10, but none in the top 3.  The top 3 teams hail from Germany, Austria and Canada.  Then comes the first US team Reynolds and Liljerdahl with 28 points.  5th is Great Britain.  6th is the USA's world champion team of Doyle and Olsen.  In 10th is the 3rd USA team Macausland and Iverson.  The USA's results were perhaps not as expected in what has always been a strong class for the USA.

The Solings are sailing a strictly match racing format.  Leading is the British team.  In a close battle for 3rd are 2 USA trios.  Third with 13 points is the team of Madrigal/Healey and Jordan.  1 point back is the team of Horton/Herlihey and Buttner.  At stake for these two USA teams is a spot in the World Match Racing championships.

The forecast for the concluding day of racing looks good.  Temperatures in the 70's with easterly winds of 15-20 knots.  

Monnett and UUNET aim for Cape Horn

French sailor Phillippe Monnet left France on 10 January. The purpose of his voyage is to break the record for fastest circumnavigation sailing east to west, or against the prevailing wind. He is sailing an Open 60 monohull UUNET. British Sailor Mike Golding is the current record holder at 161 days. Sailing Daily will provide periodic reports tracking the success of his attempt.

UUNET is now in the Southern Hemisphere.  Her course is for the first of the great capes, in this case Cape Horn at the tip of South America. 

Monnnet is sailing down the Brazilian coast at a fine clip of 12 knots.  It is in these times of easy sailing that he wants to build a lead on Golding so he can pull back when tough conditions necessitate.

The next obstacle for boat and man appears at about 20 degrees south.  This is an area of little wind.  Monnet says, "I’m working on how I’m going to tackle this bubble : either I pass way out, or I pass close to the coast. I am actually working on my plan of approach."

A look at a satellite map showing winds speeds shows that the area of windless ness is greatest near the coast.  At about 30 degrees of west longitude winds of 10-15 knots are shown.  It seems likely that during the weekend UUNET will head farther offshore.