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f 19, 11

The Shape I'm (We're) In

by Dan Rabin

Ruminations on cool-down runs and pin trading from steamy Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

We had a nice cross-class dinner after the first day of sailing with the Lightning team and Clay Johnson. I learned that Farrah Hall, the U.S. boardsailor went for a run while waiting for her redress hearing. Boardsailing must be one of the most intense physical activities on the planet, and Farrah goes for a run to cool down! I explained to Jay Lutz that if I ran from our dinner table to the restaurant door I would probably go into cardiac arrest.

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f 19, 11

U.S. Holds Lead in Three Classes Through Two Days of Sailing

by Dana Paxton/U.S. Sailing Team AlphaGraphics

Team USA is on top in the Snipe, Lightning, and Sunfish classes at the 2011 Pan Am Games

NUEVO VALLARTA, Mexico (October 18, 2011) — Racing in light-wind conditions, Team USA enjoyed a successful day two of the Pan American Games sailing regatta Tuesday at the Vallarta Yacht Club. Through four races, the U.S. holds or shares the lead in three classes — Lightning, Snipe and Sunfish. [Ed.'s note: Not sure where the error came in but it appears, according to the results, that the U.S. J/24 team is also tied for first, with 7 points. Brazil has 7 points as well.

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f 18, 11

Rolling Snake Eyes on Day 1

by Dan Rabin

Dan Rabin (on the bow) and the rest of Team USA take one of their two wins on Day 1 of the 2011 Pan Am Games Regatta in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

A pair of ones is no fun when you're starting a round of craps. But at the front end of a regatta, nothing looks better than the beginning of a picket fence.

To start, I thought I’d share a couple of things I learned from the USA Daily publication we receive every morning. There are over 6,000 athletes competing from 42 countries in the Pan Am Games – 617 from the US. In 11 of the sports, U.S. athletes are competing for a berth in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

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f 17, 11

Taking Baby Steps

by Michael Lovett

Rehabbing my father's wooden Thistle should be a relatively simple task. Or, at least, it would be for anyone but me.

I'm not a handy person. I mean, I'm not totally helpless with a toolbox, but I've never been Mr. Fix It. I just don't have that mechanical ability that comes naturally to some people, like my friend Billy. Recently, a chain saw seized up on me. It had been working fine—I had the right mix of gas and oil in the tank, and the chain was well lubricated. But one day, I went to pull the cord, and it just wouldn't budge.

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f 17, 11

Christmas, a Hurricane, and Tigers (Oh My!)

by Dan Rabin

Before the Pan Am Games regatta starts, the author is racking up new experiences, including a deluge of free swag, and some big cats in cages.

I thought our rendezvous in Houston for “athlete processing” might turn into an extended stay, given Hurricane Jova’s predicted path and force. By the way, “processing” is athlete speak for Christmas in October. We received an absurd amount of gear from Nike and some additional cool stuff from Atlantis.

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f 13, 11

U.S. Pan American Team – Sailing Heads to Mexico

by Dana Paxton/U.S. Sailing Team AlphaGraphics

The U.S. team for the 2011 Pan Am Games is chock full of veterans of Olympic and world championship competition.

Portsmouth, R.I. (October 12, 2011) – This week US SAILING’s representatives on the Pan American Games Team head to Mexico to compete in the XVI Pan American Games. The sailing competition will be hosted at the Vallarta Yacht Club in Puerto Vallarta from Oct. 17-23, and will feature nine events, including four Olympic classes - Laser (Men), Laser Radial (Women) and RS:X (Men and Women) - and five non-Olympic, open classes - Hobie 16, J/24, Lightning, Snipe and Sunfish. Sailing is one of 36 sports to be contested from Oct. 14-30 and the 16 U.S.

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f 10, 11

Fighting for Sharks and the Seas

by Tim Zimmermann

Scott Cassell is putting his life on the line to save the oceans—and their most-feared denizens.

Scott Cassell is a former special forces diver, a very tough guy who spends a lot of his time underwater. I met Cassell back in 2005, when I went diving with him among the rapacious Humboldt Squid in the Sea Of Cortez, and wrote a story about it.

So I was glad to hear that he has once again answered the call, this time to fight for the health of the oceans.

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f 4, 11

You Know It's Real When You Have to Pee in the Cup

by Dan Rabin

The U.S. Pan Am Trials for the J/24 class was a tough battle amongst a small, but competitive fleet. Coming out on top was the team of (l to r) Geoff Becker, Dan Rabin, John Mollicone, and Tim Healy. Becker, Rabin, and Mollicone, along with Paul Abdullah, will represent the United States in the J/24 class at the 2011 Pan Am Games in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

The 2011 Pan Am Games promises to provide J/24 world champion Dan Rabin and his teammates with a number of new experiences. Most of them, hopefully, will be more pleasant than finding the doping police at his front door at 10 p.m. one September evening.

One week from today, hundreds of athletes across the country will assemble in Houston en-route to the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Sailing World is providing me with this forum to share my experience of being part of the U.S. Team as we compete in the J/24 Class in Puerto Vallarta.

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f 26, 11

Not Dark Yet

by Michael Lovett

Sjoerd-Jan Vanderhorst looks in the rearview mirror during the exciting conclusion to Race 2 at the 2011 George O'Connell Fall Bay Regatta. The blue boat in the background may already have run aground.

The George O'Connell Fall Bay Regatta lets racers stretch the sailing season in the Lake Erie Islands.

I don't like being places after everyone else has gone. It's that circus-has-left-town feeling, and it has always creeped me out. I recall an instance in the parking lot of Pennsylvania's Pymatuning YC following a Thistle fall series regatta a while back. Trophies had ended about 45 minutes before, and the other teams had all driven off, trailers slowly crunching gravel. My dad was taking forever refastening all the tie-downs I had secured, and I was leaning against the boat feeling this inexplicable loneliness.

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f 21, 11

Visiting the War Room

by Bruce Gain

With the start of the Volvo Ocean Race only weeks away, I stopped by the Groupama base in Lorient, France.

On a visit to the Groupama base in Lorient, France, the other day, I was surprised by the transparency of the team's Volvo Ocean Race program. For all respects and purposes, I had the run of the place for an afternoon, with less than three weeks before the 2011-'12 begins in Alicante, Spain.

I didn't have to sign anything, nor did an escort accompany me once I drove past the security gate. Come to think of it, I don’t even think there was a security checkpoint—just a gate that opened automatically as I drove through to the parking late.

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Sailing Blogs

The Shape I'm (We're) In

U.S. Holds Lead in Three Classes Through Two Days of Sailing

Rolling Snake Eyes on Day 1

Taking Baby Steps

Christmas, a Hurricane, and Tigers (Oh My!)

U.S. Pan American Team – Sailing Heads to Mexico

Fighting for Sharks and the Seas

You Know It's Real When You Have to Pee in the Cup

Not Dark Yet

Visiting the War Room

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