Baird wins 4 races in semifinals

But St. Petersburg's other sailor, Mark Mendelblatt, loses all five of his races at the trials.

By JIM DOYLE

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 9, 2000

SAN FRANCISCO -- St. Petersburg skipper Ed Baird carved out four crucial wins Thursday in the semifinals of the Soling class in the U.S. trials on San Francisco Bay.

Baird's team lost one race against its opponent, a 27-foot keelboat skippered by Andy Horton of Vermont.

The victories give Baird's team a strong start in the best-of-13 series. The first two teams with seven wins advance to the final.

Mark Mendelblatt, St. Petersburg's other skipper in the semis, didn't fare so well. His team lost all five of its races to San Francisco skipper Jeff Madrigali, who has won 26 consecutive races in the 10-day regatta.

The races were held mainly in the shallow waters off the Emeryville mudflats in a steady breeze of 10-20 knots.

Baird got off to a shaky start, losing his first race. But the veteran sailor, who skippered an America's Cup yacht last fall for the New York Yacht Club, rallied with a series of good starts and tacking duels.

Baird and his crew of Dean Brenner and Tom Burnham appear headed toward the final. But their races against Horton's boat were fairly tight, winning one by 4 seconds.

Mendelblatt performed well. His team of Karl Anderson and Ben Richardson got the jump on some of its starts.

But there was no question Madrigali's boat, which won one of its races by a whopping 32 seconds, was going faster on upwind and downwind legs.

The winner of the trials will represent the United States in the Soling class at the Games in September.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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