35968 Scow Fall Winter - Inland Lake Yachting Association

PAGE 26
As 2006 closed out, the United
States’ Team 7 Sailing Yngling crew led
by Nashotah, Wisconsin’s Sally Barkow
was hard at work, training on the Spanish
Mediterranean island of Palma de
Mallorca, completing a memorable year
for the 2008 Olympic aspirants.
The American trio flew to Palma for
a training session at the invitation of
British double-Gold Medalist Shirley
Robertson and her crew, Annie Lush and
Lucy McGregor. Barkow said: “We’re
looking forward to some good tuning
opportunities and getting back into race
mode during practice races with a lot of
the other international teams who train in
Palma for the winter.”
At home, Team 7’s support group
was putting the finishing touches on their
revamped and extended website http://
www.team7sailing.com which went live
early in December.
Barkow, US Sailing’s 2005 Rolex
Yachtswoman of the Year, and her crew,
Debbie Capozzi, Bayport, NY, and Carrie
Howe, Grosse Pointe, Mich., spent the
first two weeks of December training
with the British Olympic team before
breaking for the holidays. They were to
pick up training again in Miami, early in
the New Year, in advance of the 2007 US
Sailing Rolex Olympic Classes Regatta
(OCR) at the end of January.
A year ago they kicked off 2006 with
a victory at the Rolex Miami OCR,
defeating second-placed Hannah Swett
and her crew by a 30-point margin. They
followed that up by placing second to
Spain’s Monica Azon at the Yngling
North American Championship, also in
Miami.
Barkow, Capozzi, and Howe
maintained their momentum, beginning
their 2006 European sailing season with a
major victory at the 37 th Trofeo Princesa
Sofia in Palma de Mallorca, afterwards
receiving their Gold Medals from Queen
Sofia of Spain.
They followed that up by winning
again on the international scene at the
38 th Semaine Olympique Française in
Hyères, France, defeating the secondplaced
British team by just four points.
Last July, in La Rochelle, France,
Team 7 Sailing won the bronze medal at
SCOW SLANTS
the Yngling Women’s World Championship.
After heading into the regatta as the
defending world champions, the trio
defeated 34 teams to take third place,
behind teams from Spain and Germany.
Barkow’s team started strongly,
leading after the first day of sailing. On
the second day, the British team climbed
past them to take the overall lead before a
thunderstorm washed out racing for the
rest of the day. On the final day of racing,
the Spanish team finished with equal
points to their German rivals, but they
broke the tie with two bullets recorded
during the series. The British team was
disqualified in the final race, which
caused them to slip to an overall fourth
place.
“It worked out in our favor. I think
we had a pretty tough week,” said
Barkow. “We stuck together as a team to
get the result we wanted in the end.”
In August, Team 7 placed fifth
overall in The Good Luck Beijing 2006
Qingdao International Regatta in China,
the first of the pre-Olympic regattas at the
2008 venue on the tricky waters of Fusan
Bay. This series was notable for the fact
that none of the established favorites
were able to climb to the top of the points
FALL/WINTER 2006
Barkow's Team 7 racing toward a gold medal
table. The Dutch crew skippered by
Mandy Mulder sailed a very strong and
consistent regatta, capping their performance
with a first place in the Medal
Race to win the Gold.
Some competitors came to the event,
comfortable with their best boats and
favorite sails, and determined to score as
high as possible. Team 7 Sailing treated
this one as a learning laboratory – yes,
they wanted to win, but they also wanted
to soak up and analyze the local winds
and tides and to test and try out a myriad
of concepts, techniques and equipment.
They left Qingdao confident that
they have a good handle on the fitting out
and preparation of the competition boat
and sails they will bring back in a year’s
time.
Going forward, Team 7 Sailing is
focused on the two regattas where they
need to beat their American competition
to represent the US at the Qingdao
Olympics. The first is the International
Sailing Federation (ISAF) Combined
Olympic Class World Championship, in
Cascais, Portugal, June 28 - July 13,
2007, followed by the Yngling Women’s
World Championship, Miami, Fla.,
February 9-15, 2008.
Pine Lake's Sally Barkow, US Sailing’s 2005 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year,
and her crew, Debbie Capozzi and Carrie Howe are heading up the Yngling
class in a bid to represent the US in the 2008 Olympics.