Despite a couple of tough neck-and-neck days, Southwestern Yacht Club’s Tim Wadlow and his 49er racing partner Chris Rast defeated the competition Sunday, winning the honor of representing the U.S. in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in China. The weeklong regatta was hosted at Southwestern (SWYC) in Point Loma.
The 49er is a small, light, high-tech, high-performance skiff with retractable wings, trapeze, and a huge sail area that can literally sail faster than wind. The boat also deploys a spinnaker, often called a chute, which acts as a giant glove for air allowing the skiff to plane, creating extra high speed.
The teams that gave the duo of Wadlow/Rast a run for their money were Dalton Bergan and another San Diegan, Zack Maxam (based at the Coronado Yacht Club), who finished second, and Morgan Larson and Pete Spaulding (Wadlow’s partner in the 2004 Athens games), placing third.
The victory resulted in champagne spraying involving Wadlow’s wife, Ery Largay, Rast’s girlfriend Heather Milne (of San Diego) and a handful of friends who jumped into the open seas to celebrate with the new Olympians.
Parents Dorothy and Tom Wadlow flew in from the East Coast to watch what they had hoped would be a victorious race following eight days of Olympic sailing trials over a nine-day period in Point Loma.
“We were nervous,” admitted Dorothy. “We watched all week on the Internet and got e-mail updates from Tim.”
Although the senior Wadlows now reside in Connecticut, they remain members at SWYC.
“This is home away from home,” said Tom.
Of course, the Wadlows are proud of their son, who will now sail in the Olympics for a second time.
“We’ve always been proud of Tim,” said Dorothy. “The next step (for Tim) is a big one “” the Olympics. But I think he’s ready for it.”
Tom agreed, saying there is a lot more competition this time around, and trials are significantly harder to win.
“That may seem like bad news,” said Tom. “But it’s also good news, as Tim and Chris are better prepared for the Olympics than they were four years ago.
“The fact that we had three competitive teams has pushed them much more than the last time.”
As U.S. Sailing coach Luther Carpenter explained, the 49er “” a relatively new skiff “” has only been in Olympic competition since 2000 in Sydney.
Tim Wadlow admits the competition has become fierce.
“There were some tough days,” he said. “Morgan and Pete were doing an awesome job “” making our life tough “” tacking on us, pushing us back in the fleet. Those were stressful days.”
Carpenter attributes the team’s success against strong competition in part to Wadlow and Rast’s focus and preparedness.
“Tim and Chris are the masters of preparation and training,” said Carpenter. “You won’t find anybody that doesn’t acknowledge that they are the most thorough and most methodical. “The way that they prepared for this event was top-notch,” he said. “When you go up against a team like that, that’s crossed every ‘T’, it’s hard to beat them. They’re very talented sailors as well.”
Wadlow said he and Rast are “big into routines.”
To prepare for competition, the duo kept to a strict daily schedule during the six-day trials, meeting, pulling sails up, and eating at the same time every day.
Because of a couple of early “” or false “” starts, Wadlow knew they had the win on Saturday.
“We knew we were going to win, but there were some other battles going on,” he said. “There was a battle for second, and the younger teams were trying to prove themselves.”
There were plenty of moments midweek, however, when the win appeared a bit further away.
“It was a great duel between mostly two boats, with the third one sneaking in there,” Carpenter said. “They were really just trading an awesome display of racing for a day or two days. One team would be awesome, and the other would make a mistake here and there. It was a little exhausting. I’m sure it was exhausting for them. You kept thinking it was over, and then
no “¦”
Wadlow said he and Rast never took the trials or the potential win for granted but that they haven’t planned beyond Oct. 14.
“It’s like all of our calendars ended today,” he smiled. “Tomorrow we’ll sit down and start to think about how we can best prepare for the Olympics.”
“I’m definitely not showing up tomorrow morning, if you don’t mind,” joked Rast, expressing desire for some sleep and time off.
“A little nap would be nice right about now,” he said.
Rast said it’s been a long haul for America’s 49er competitors, as the European and other 49er teams wrapped up their Olympic bids in July and August.
“We just had to keep on going, going, going, all the way until October,” said Rast, who plans to relocate to San Diego from his home in Switzerland.
Rast holds dual citizenship and represented Switzerland in Athens, sailing against Wadlow.
“Tim and I have known each other for a while,” Rast said. “We were sparring partners and we practiced a lot together.
“When we decided to sail together it wasn’t a big deal. We just basically hopped in the boat. It was easy to get a good relationship going,” he said.
Wadlow credits much of his sailing skills to SWYC’s Jana Odou and her junior program at the club.
“The fact that I grew up at Southwestern and was a product of the junior program has a lot to do with my success,” he said.
“The club and the members have been incredibly supportive, and they did an amazing job (running the weeklong trials),” Wadlow said. “This win is not only a victory for us but a victory for the whole club.”
Wadlow’s advice to the junior varsity of 49ers: “Don’t try to beat each other. Work together toward winning against the Europeans.”