October 30, 2005 - In a series that came down to the last race, 470 Team USA captured their first win of the 2006 season at the St. Francis Olympic Classes Regatta this past weekend. The regatta served as the first of three qualifying events for the 2006 US Sailing Team, making the victory a critical one for Maxwell and Manard in their quest to win Olympic Gold in 2008.

Racing began Saturday after a brief onshore postponement waiting for wind and a three hour postponement on the water waiting for the fog to clear enough to make the marks visible. The 470 fleet had a strong turnout this weekend with 11 boats (men and women sailing combined), four of which are currently on the US Sailing Team.

The race course was situated along the shoreline between Alcatraz and the piers off the San Francisco city front. The first race was sailed in about 10 knots of wind and an ebb tide, making the right side of the course significantly favored upwind since it had more wind and more favorable current. With decent speed and solid tactics in the first race, 470 Team USA finished the race in third, just in front of Clark/Mergenthaler (currently the #1 ranked women’s boat on the USST). Reading the starting line was the name of the game for Race 2, and 470 Team USA did so in style. After winning the left end of the line and tacking to cross the entire fleet, Maxwell and Manard dueled the entire race with Clark/Mergenthaler. In the end, 470 Team USA held on to finish in front and win the race, giving them the lead in the regatta at the end of Saturday.

Sunday greeted the fleet with clear, sunny skies and absolutely no wind until slightly after noon. The breeze filled in to about 8-12 knots and the fog stayed away, making for a perfect day of sailing. Because of daylight savings the current pattern was essentially the same as Saturday's – a strong ebb (going upwind) all day, starting to taper off towards the end of the day.

The first race was a battle among the top four boats, with frequent lead changes. But in the end, 470 Team USA managed to pull ahead at the finish to take first in the race. Clark/Mergenthaler (the 2nd place women’s boat) finished 2nd, with Anderson/Hughes (tied for 1st going into the day) in third. The second race was reminiscent of Saturday’s last race. The pin end was favored, but most of the fleet was still starting at the boat end to try to get to the right side of the course. Maxwell and Manard started at the pin on port with Anderson/Hughes just below them. Struggling with their speed, 470 Team USA dropped back to third by the end of the race, setting the stage for a dramatic final race of the series.

Going into the last race, 470 Team USA was tied with Anderson/Hughes for first place. The sailing instructions specified that after five races a boat's lowest score would be discarded, so 470 Team USA was guaranteed to be at least second overall and the first women’s team. A miscalculation on the starting line forced Maxwell and Manard to do two penalty turns, putting them well behind the fleet. Anderson/Huges were leading the race, which made 470 Team USA's chances of winning the regatta look pretty slim. Using a combination of good upwind speed and exceptional downwind tactics, 470 Team USA climbed back through the fleet. On the final run they passed the two lead boats, giving them first place in the race and the regatta.

With this victory, 470 Team USA is currently leading the 2006 US Sailing Team rankings for the Women's 470 class. The two remaining ranking events will be held in Miami, FL in January. For more information on the ranking system and the US Sailing Team, please visit US Sailing's website at www.ussailing.org/olympics/usst.htm.