San Diego, Calif.
October 5, 2007

It’s the eve of the US Sailing Olympic Selection Trials here for the Tornado Class and for the last two weeks a new-look Advanced Equities II has been practising off Point Loma.

We now have a new boat and a new helmsperson. We’ve taken delivery of a new Graham Eeles-built Tornado and our new helmsperson is Sarah Newberry from Miami. Lots of changes mean a steep learning curve but our new combination is improving every day and we know the boat is fast.

First the boat: it’s only the third one to come from the shop of its English builder but Eeles has had a long history building Tornados at the Reg White boat shop. And since he went into business on his own he’s been building many of the component parts like spinnaker chutes and blades that top racers employ on their Swedish Marstrom-built boats. Our boat has even been broken-in, so to speak. Before we took delivery, Britain’s Leigh McMillan and Will Howden sailed it to fifth place at the Tornado World Championship in Portugal this summer.

Sarah signed on late this summer just ahead of the trials. It is tough to find someone with the skills and the time to take a whole month out of their lives for a Tornado campaign and it was fortunate that she was available. Our coach, Jon Farrar, knew about Sarah’s background and suggested her for the helming job. Sarah is in her second year at the New College in Sarasota. She has a ton of experience racing in a variety of boats including Optis, 420s and Hobie 16s, but best of all she sails Tornados with her uncle, Jamie Livingston. We’re the lightest of the six US teams contesting the trials and, apart from heavy weather predicted for tomorrow, we expect it to be a light air series.

Our host club is the San Diego Yacht Club. Competition begins on Saturday, October 6, at noon, out on Coronado Roads and continues every day through October 14, with the tenth set aside as layday or makeup day. We’ll have a daily update for you, plus Tornado Results here. Be sure to visit our website at www.t-squaredracing.com. Our sponsor, Advanced Equities, is at www.advancedequities.com.

Sail fast,
Drew Wierda - Team Advanced Equities II