On the Water

Daniel tops catamaran rankings

Clearwater's Robbie Daniel is ranked as the top U.S. sailor in the fastest of the Olympic boats.

Counting results from the Olympic Class regatta and Olympic Pre-Trials in Miami and the Nationals held off the Dunedin Causeway, Daniel and crew Eric Jacobsen have a clear lead over the competition in the quest for the Athens Olympics.

At 20 feet long and with 250 square feet of sail, the Tornado always has been phenomenal in upwind speed. But off the wind, more modern catamarans were faster because of the advent of asymmetrical spinnakers that more than double horsepower.

Occasionally, trials are held to decide what boat to use in future Olympics. Those racing in the Tornado class saw that they needed to upgrade to compete.

The division had made subtle changes.

The hulls of the 1970s had a knuckle in the aft hull shape, similar to the back of a jetliner. The hull later was altered to make a more even rocker. But more was needed.

"The boat is really turbocharged now," Daniel said.

The sail area is increased by making the mainsail a "square-top" similar to a modern Windsurfer sail. A massive asymmetrical spinnaker is set off a carbon, retractable pole.

The skipper and crew have trapezes, getting their weight well outside the boat.

The result is a craft that is near the top of catamaran bragging rights upwind and down. Acceleration after a tack requires a firm footing and anticipation.

"The boat actually tacks better than it used to," Daniel said. "We tack and get going again in about seven seconds."

Besides the considerable time commitment to compete at the Olympic level, the cost of equipment and travel is daunting.

Daniel works on the Home Depot program that gives flexible hours to serious contenders of many Olympic sports. Jacobsen has a family and is a police officer in the Washington, D.C., area.

U.S. Sailing has helped top contenders more than in years past.

"While their contribution is only a small part of the overall cost of the campaign, every little bit helps," Daniel said.

LASER MASTERS MIDWINTERS: The first day of competition at the Clearwater Community Sailing Center saw so much wind that even the gung-ho types stayed on the beach.

Racing was canceled for the day.

Sunday dawned windy from the northwest, causing huge breaking seas outside Clearwater Pass.

On the Gulf, the jumbled waves continued as the wind slowly died to a nice breeze.

Sailors 35-70 came from as far away as California.

A top local finisher was Buzzy Heausler of Davis Island in fourth overall and second in the 40-55 Masters division. Ian Lineberger of St.Petersburg was seventh overall and third in Masters.

PASS-A-GRILLE ANCHOR CUP: The wind blew Saturday for the 52 registrants.

Seas were smooth. But with the threat of thunderstorms in the afternoon, a shorter race was held at the 10 a.m. start.

Winners included Mike Siedlecki's Martin 242 Tack Tick and Jim Lindsey's J-24 Sight Seeing in the spinnaker classes.

Escapade, a Catalina 42 skippered by Mark Wesson, and Hall Palmer's Wylie 30 Lucky Ducky won the non-spinnaker divisions. Allen Lindsey guided his Creekmore 40 Coconut to the True Cruising win.

Key Lime, a Corsair F-31 sailed by Kurt Gregory, was the only multihull finisher.

KAYAK RACES: Philippe Park at the northern end of Tampa Bay in Safety Harbor will be the site of racing for all sorts of kayaks March 15.

Courses vary between 2 and 7.5 miles for classes of paddlers from under 15-foot sit-ins to surfski, sea kayak and over 15-foot sit-on-top.

There also is competition for those 15-and-under.

For information, call the Safety Harbor Recreation Department, (727) 724-1555.

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