Another report about sailing from Bill Doyle, Team Newport Rhode Island.The racing all week led to an exciting, sometimes frustrating, and always unpredictable regatta where even the winners didn't know the final scores until they were announced during the medal ceremony.
The racers were divided into two classes, three person crews in competitive (24 teams) or recreational (7 teams) divisions with some very experiences sailors participating. Represented in the competitive class were national Olympic team members and crews with World Championship experience. The top teams battled it out in every race, with two from the UK, two from Germany, and one from the USA seeming to emerge as the favorites for victory. One UK team in particular had won five of their six heat races and showed consistency throughout the week, seemingly unstoppable. Add to that one team from San Francisco and one from the Netherlands who both excelled when the wind picked up, and it was anybody’s guess who might win in the finals.
In team RI's case, (Did you see us at the opening ceremonies? We represented the whole state. I think we walked in right before Guam..) Anyway, odds were against us. With the finals stacked with UK, German, and Dutch sailors, the two US teams to make the 10 boat finals were a bit overwhelmed.
Going into the three race finals, we hadn't done well on the previous day's heat races and felt defeated by our scores, but we vowed to do our best and apply everything we learned that week. But it all came together. Coming in first place for race one and following up with another win in race two left us speechless. Our three person team has raced together for 15 years in regattas big and small, but I can't recall a moment when our hearts were beating faster and our energy level higher than on that day. As previous winners in Chicago, we couldn't imagine winning back-to-back golds. I can't explain why, but there is something about the Gay Games that makes these regattas feel so much bigger than our normal races, and we were truly excited beyond our expectations.Throughout the week, the competition was keen and the camaraderie strong. We spent time with old friends and we met new ones. We experienced a new city we wouldn't have known before, and a sailing club we otherwise would never have had an opportunity to visit. And, we had the pleasure to spend time with amazingly friendly and experienced race committee and sailing club volunteers who made it all possible. In that sense, all of the competitors in the 2010 Gay Games Sailing Regatta were winners.
As was the case however, medals were to be distributed, and our boat, Team Newport Rhode Island, was victorious that day. Following just two points behind was Gusty Springfield from the UK, and the Pink Poseidons from Germany. In the recreation division, it was a German sweep, with the three lovely ladies of Die Perlen taking the gold. All tremendous sailors and all are capable of winning on any given day. But that day, we were the lucky ones and we will cherish the win until we meet again in Cleveland, 2014.Thank you all for making it possible.
Team NewportRhode Island, USA
Photos by Bill Doyle. Top photo Team Newport and their gold medals. Middle photo is home base for Team Newport Rhode Island. Bottom photo, sailors gather for medal ceremony.
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