LOVELL AND OGLETREE SUCCESSFULLY DEFEND TITLE
NEW ORLEANS, LA. (October 23, 2004) In an exciting final day of competition, the USAs 2004 Olympic Silver Medal team of John Lovell (New Orleans) and Charlie Ogletree (Houston, Texas) have successfully defended their claim to the International Catamaran Challenge Trophy (ICCT) by defeating Enrique Figueroa and Jorge Hernandez of Puerto Rico. After going ahead on a score of 3-1 yesterday, the American pair needed to win only one match today to hold on to their title in the first-to-four point series sailed in F18HTs on Lake Pontchartrain and hosted by Southern Yacht Club.
But the win did not come easily. In the first do-or-die match for the Challengers, Lovell and Ogletree replicated the mastery theyve displayed all week in match racing, controlling the Puerto Ricans in the pre-start and leading around the first mark by several lengths. And while the 9-12 knot southerly breeze was the most promising all week for match racing, there were not only opportunities to speed away in the puffs but also pitfalls to die in the lulls over the 2.5-mile course. Soon after their rounding, Lovell and Ogletree gybed away to protect their lead only to fall into a hole while Figueroa and Hernandez sped away to a spectacular three-minute lead, the largest of any match of the week.
Thanks for the mulligan, quipped Figueroa to a disappointed but smiling Lovell between matches. We lucked into that one. Even with a long-standing rivalry between these two going back to their Olympic Tornado competition — the sailors have maintained their good nature and camaraderie both on and off the water. The sixth and deciding match was the last opportunity for the Challengers to even up the score, and they showed more aggression than in any match of the week. Pushing the Americans hard just seconds prior to the start, Figueroa and Hernandez thought the Defenders had not kept clear and signaled for a penalty. Umpires Dobbs Davis (Annapolis, Md.) and Dwight Le Blanc (New Orleans) disagreed, and green-flagged the incident which threatened to put Lovell and Ogletree over at the start. As in several prior matches, the Defenders effectively controlled the Challengers all the way to the port tack layline, this time guarding their lead more carefully to sail to victory by 27 seconds.
That was really hard, said a relieved Lovell while sailing back to the harbor. There were plenty of holes and puffs we felt could close the gap. Were just glad its over.
According to ICCT Trustee John Dawson of Sea Cliff Yacht Club (Long Island, N.Y.), it will again be up to Southern Yacht Club to organize the next Challenge and Defense of the event also known as the Little Americas Cup. We hope to see this event held again on an annual basis, said Dawson, and provide more eligible competitors the opportunity to sail for this prestigious trophy. The announcement of the dates, venue, and catamaran class to be used in the next event will be made in January 2005.
NEW ORLEANS, LA. (October 21, 2004) Olympic Silver Medalists Johnny Lovell (New Orleans) and Charlie Ogletree (Houston, Texas) have taken the lead in their defense of the International Catamaran Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the Little Americas Cup. In the first-to-four point series, the two Tornado class veterans have taken a 3-1 lead against Enrique Figueroa and Jorge Hernandez of Puerto Rico with one day left in the competition.
Yesterdays light and shifty northerly solidified enough to finish the final match of the Challenger Series between Mitch Booth and Herbert Dercksen of The Netherlands and the Puerto Ricans who were tied with three wins apiece after racing on Wednesday. Booth mastered the pre-start, built a lead which was challenged only once on the first run, but then on the final run to the finish let the speedy Puerto Ricans go to the opposite side of the course and cross them with only 50 metres to the finish.
Emboldened by what looked to be superior speed in the 6-8 knot conditions, Figueroa and Hernandez went on the win the first match in the Trophy Series against Lovell and Ogletree, with help from a 15-degree favorable shift on the first beat.
But as the breeze built to a more solid 8-9 knots, the match racing prowess of the Americans helped them at the top of the first beat, where they forced a penalty on the Puerto Ricans just a few lengths from the top mark. Using their superior downwind speed, Figueroa and Hernandez then managed to take a sizeable lead, but not big enough to allow for their penalty turn at the finish, where the Americans slipped by with only three seconds to spare.
In the third match, Figueroa and Hernandez rallied to take and hold on to a slim lead on the first two legs, but a bad covering tack on the second beat allowed Lovell and Ogletree to slip by, and win this match by only three seconds.
In the final match of the day, it was the Americans turn to benefit from a big shift, where after a split start Lovell and Ogletree sailed to the right corner and a 15-degree right shift with more pressure. This vaulted them into a lead of 30 seconds at the windward mark, an eternity in the fast-paced world of catamaran match racing.
Tomorrow were going to focus more on using our speed to our advantage, said Figueroa. Were new to match racing, so this will be our best strength.
Tomorrows forecast for 10 knots will promise an exciting finale to the competition, with a large weekend spectator crowd expected on the Lake Pontchartrain venue within sight of the host Southern Yacht Club.
CHALLENGERS STILL UNDECIDED, NEW ORLEANS, LA. (October 21, 2004) Principal Race Officer Wallace Paletou (New Orleans) and Chief Umpire Dobbs Davis (Annapolis, Md.) determined today that conditions were not suitable for racing at the 2004 International Catamaran Challenge Trophy (ICCT). Racing in the Defender Series concluded yesterday with Johnny Lovell (New Orleans) and Charlie Ogletree (Houston, Texas) winning the right to defend for the 24th Little Americas Cup. Racing in the Challenger Series will resume tomorrow, Friday, October 22, to determine whether Mitch Booth and Herbert Dercksen of The Netherlands or Enrique Figueroa and Jorge Sanchez of Puerto Rico will challenge for the ICCT. Both teams are currently tied at three points each.
Revived in 2003 after a hiatus of more than seven years, the ICCT is an international match racing event for catamarans. Sailing from Southern Yacht Club in F18HTs, the winners of the respective Defender and Challenger eliminations will compete head-to-head in a first-to-four points series for the Trophy on Friday, October 22, and, if necesssary, Saturday, October 23.
NEW ORLEANS, LA. (October 20, 2004) Light air today on Lake Pontchartrain yielded only three flights in the quest for the 2004 International Catamaran Challenge Trophy, historically known as the “Little America’s Cup.” After a three hour postponement, a light northerly breeze finally filled to determine the winner of the Defender Series. New Orleans-based skipper John Lovell and crew Charlie Ogletree (Houston, Texas) bested Bob Hodges (Mandeville, La.) and crew W.F. Oliver (Virginia Beach, Va.) in one match to win the right to defend the title they earned last year in Newport, RI. In the Challenger Series, the teams remain tied at three points apiece. To finish up, those competitors will be back on the water tomorrow, which was a planned lay day.
“We’re certainly happy to have earned the right to sail in the Finals on Friday,” said Lovell, “but it hasn’t been an easy fight.”
Lovell and Ogletree, representing the host Southern Yacht Club, got off the start line to leeward and slightly ahead of Hodges and Oliver and extended their lead in the fifth match to win the series 4-1.
Meanwhile, the Challenger Series remains undecided, as Mitch Booth with Herbert Dercksen from The Netherlands and Enrique Figueroa with Jorge Hernandez from Puerto Rico stand tied on three wins apiece in the first-to-four points series. Going into the fifth flight and down by two matches in a must-win situation, the Puerto Ricans showed good speed in the light air by coming from behind to take the match.
Still down by one in the sixth flight, they were forced to tack away soon after the start and had to watch the Dutch team extend their gains into a seemingly insurmountable 40-second lead going into the final run in a dying breeze. But then in a miraculous turn of events, the breeze shifted right, the Dutch gybed a little too late, and the Puerto Ricans managed to roll over the leaders and extend their lead down the final run to tie the series.
“This is our first match race, so we’re hoping to keep the blood off the boats,” said Hernandez. “We felt fast in light air, particularly downwind, so if it’s a downwind game tomorrow, we should be strong.”
“We’ve now learned the limitations of the boats in light air, so we’re looking for some more breeze tomorrow,” said Booth.
While the Defenders can relax on their lay day tomorrow and prepare for their next scheduled racing on Friday, competition will resume tomorrow morning to determine who will meet Lovell and Ogletree in the Trophy Series.
Additional information, including complete scores can be found at http://www.southernyachtclub.org/
NEW ORLEANS, LA. (October 19, 2004) — Action in the International Catamaran Challenge Trophy today was fast and furious, with Mitch Booth (NED) and John Lovell (USA) each taking a 3-1 lead in the Challenger and Defender Series, respectively. With southerly winds reaching 20 knots, the F18HT catamarans were at top speed, completing the four-mile courses in less than 20 minutes with boats speeds approaching 20 knots. In this event, also known as the ‘Little America’s Cup’, these high speed cats certainly outpace anything else being match raced, including IACC yachts.
“In the windier races, we were right on the edge of control,” said local-based favorite Lovell. “We capsized twice, more than usual in all my years of Tornado sailing.” Lovell and crew Charlie Ogletree (Houston, Texas) flipped once prior to a practice race when they snagged a crab trap, and once again in the second match against rival defender candidate Bob Hodges (Mandeville, La.), which cost him the lead and the match point.
“But the competition is great, we’re having tight racing, and looking forward to tomorrow.”
In the Challenger Series, the Dutch team’s score was also hard-earned, having earned the win in Match One against rivals Enrique Figueroa and Jorge Sanchez when the Puerto Ricans capsized only meters from the finish and lost a commanding lead.
“We’re learning the limitations of the boats in the fresh conditions,” said Booth. “In competition this keen, we’re pushing the boats to its limits. The interesting part of the day was learning where those limits were.”
For tomorrow, Booth says “We’re planning to be conservative to consolidate our position. We appear to be fast upwind, so we want to be first to the top mark and then defend rather than have to attack. But conditions may be different tomorrow, so we’ll have to learn the boat all over again.” This is only the second day Tornado Olympic veteran Booth and his crew Herbert Dercksen have sailed the F18HT.
Match racing in the Little America’s Cup resumes tomorrow, and continues through October 22.
Complete scores can be found at http://www.southernyachtclub.org/