| Team Maclaren : 2011 Santa Maria Cup Champions | | Print | |
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October 1, 2011
Team Maclaren won the 2011 Santa Maria Cup
today 3-1 over Team Bossard from France. The wind was up in the
mid-teens from the north west, the temperatures were mid 50's, and the
sailing was great. And to top it all, Liz Lewin, our 4th crew member,
was awarded the Eleanor Ruth Wilcox Memorial Trophy for Top Bowperson
and overall best smile.
Photo Credit: Walter Cooper / waltercooperphoto.com
Our
day started with the conclusion of the semi final matches against Team
Dellenbaugh (USA). We had two very good starts against them and were
able to hold a steady lead from the top mark onwards to take the series
3-0 after our one win yesterday afternoon.
The finals were a first to three point series too and we were up against Julie Bossard and her team from France after they defeated Sharron Ferris-Choat 3-1 in they semi final match.
Photo Credit: Walter Cooper / waltercooperphoto.com
 The
first race was a very close race all around the track. We started even
on the start line, and when the two boats came together half way up
the leg, we placed a leebow in a good position, but our jib sheet
over-rode on its self and we slid sideways as we sorted it out. This
put us two lengths behind at the top mark. Downwind, we caught up to
them by the leeward mark and rounded inside of them after they had a
bad rounding. We tacked away though because we couldn't hang very long
on their hip and when we came back together, they had the cross by one
length. Up the rest of the course we slowly pulled them in by playing
the small shifts. But again just before the top, we had a jib sheet
issue on a tack and lost a lot of distance. Around the top mark, we
were about four lengths behind but the girls did a great job of getting
the boat going fast and we caught up to a photo finish at the finish
line. Apparently we lost by a foot or so, but it gave us confidence
that we had the speed to win the series, we just had to sort out our
boat handling. We sat down after the race and discussed what we needed
to do differently and apparently, it worked. From then on, all around
the course, we had great speed and great boat handling, and won the next
three races by a few lengths at the finish line.
It
was a very well run regatta and we would like to thank the regatta
sponsors, the race committee, umpires, and the volunteers for their
time in getting a great regatta completed with no rounds having to be
eliminated. We would also especially like to thank Boatyard Bar and Grill for their support of us during this event. You can check the scores online at the regatta website: http://www.santamariacup.org/index.asp.
From
here, we leave for Florida to meet up with Team Audi Match (from
Finland) to start Elliott 6m sailing again as we prepare for our US
Trials at the end of this month. We are looking forward to the warmer
weather and some great training.
As always, Team Maclaren would very much like to thank our Title Sponsor, Maclaren, Gold Level Sponsors 11th Hour Racing and Laser Performance, and Bronze Level Sponsors Carmeuse, Trinity Yachts, Chicago Match Race Center and Sperry Top-Sider for their continued support of the team's campaign for the 2012 Olympic Games. Thank you also to US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) and its sponsors for their continued support. Also, thank you to all private donors. Please remember that any and all donations/contributions to their campaign should be made payable directly to either The Sailing Foundation of New York (tax deductible) memo'd Anna Tunnicliffe, or to Anna Tunnicliffe. And as usual, don't forget, email us your questions and comments. We love getting them and sharing our love of sailing and women's match racing.
Anna: 4D's: "Dream,Desire,Dedication,Discipline"TM
Team Maclaren: 3P's: Passion...Performance...Perfection...TM
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