Issue # 182

 Today's Sailing News 

Barker is Congressional Cup Champion

By ending the Grade 1 Congressional Cup on an 11 match winning streak Dean Barker sailed to the Congressional Cup Championship.  Both the semi finals and finals were sailed Friday in boisterous 18 knot winds.

The day began with one race of the dual round robin to be finished.  Results showed Barker, Pace and Destremea through to the finals.  Sten Mohr and Peter Holmberg were tied.  After protests, appeals and debate Mohr was named as the 4th semi finalist.

As Barker finished the round robins first he chose Destremeau as his semi's opponent.  Barker won 2 matches by 28 and 31 seconds and was through to the finals.  In the other pairing Sten Mohr current Match racing world champion upset the Swedish Match tour points leader Bertrand Pace.  Mohr scored a pair of 14 second wins.

In the finals it was the world champion vs. the America's Cup champion.  On this day it was Barker who was better by 11 and 21 seconds in the two races.

Barker wins $ 5972 and heads to May's Match Racing Worlds as a favorite.  Mohr will be there to defend his championship.  Mohr who is not a sailor by trade stated, "Now he'll go back with the win and I'll go back to my desk."

Olympic Trials : Europe 

Races 11 and 12 saw leader Courtenay Becker Dey keep a solid lead with finishes of 1st and 2nd.  Meg Galliard who is 8 points back sailed a sub par 1st race finishing 6th.  This score was discarded.  She came back to win the second race.  Galliard must keep winning in the 4 remaining races to have a chance at the Olympic Berth.

 Laser

Once again the leadership in this class changed.  Mark Mendenblatt won both of the days races.  This took him from 2nd to 1st and a 4 point lead.  Previous leader John Myrdal scored 2 4ths and now trails by 4 points.

Finn

Leader Russ Silvestri rebounded and posted scores of 1st and 3rd.  This puts him 10 points ahead of Mark Herrman with 4 races to go.

Star

Mark Reynolds and Magnus Liljerdahl had another superior day on San Francisco Bay.  They were 3rd and 1st and stretched their lead to 15 points.  The second place team of Brun and Dorgan posted identical scores of 1st and 3rd and so did not gain any points.