FROM SILVER TO GOLD

John Lovell/Charlie Ogletree - their Olympic Quest

Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget / FFV İ 2008

Semaine Olypique Française

April 19 - April 25

Unfortunately we did not finish in the top ten overall and will not be sailing in the medal race tomorrow, but we got a lot of good training in and learned quite a bit about the new boat we are testing. The jury is still out for which boat to use for the Games, but we have time to test and we know our other boat is very competitive. After tomorrow we are heading back home for a week of rest before coming back to Europe for two weeks of training and follow by our next event on the circuit in Holland leading up to the Olympics this August. Stay tuned for more updates while we are move forward on the road to Qingdao.

You can download full results online. Click HERE for some videos of today's racing.

Semaine Olympique Française website - sof.ffvoile.net. We want to acknowledge all the support from our sponsor, Advanced Equities, and from our individual supporters.

Sail fast
Johnny Lovell and Charlie Ogletree - Team Advanced Equities I

April 23, Hyeres, France. Yesterday the Mistral came in strong at 30-40 knots in Hyeres and 50 knots in Marseille just down the coast. We got to the boat in the morning wondering if the RC was going to send us out. Due to the forecast they cancelled racing for the Tornado Class for the day. The Women's Laser Radials and the Men's 470 went out, but did not race due to so much broken equipment. It was a tough day to be a competitor one of those classes. We spent the day admiring the power of wind and waves Mother Nature could dish out and was grateful to be onshore and not sailing.

What a difference a day makes. Today was beautiful and sunny. Only the second sunny day since we arrived ten days ago. It almost seemed warm, well not really. We left the beach expecting light and variable winds and three races. We got all of that and more.

The first race of the day we had a rough start at the pin end, but for the first time we were fast and went the right way to round the top mark in fourth. By the end of the second lap the wind had inverted and the leaders went from the front to the back. Unfortunately that meant us. We battled both the conditions and the race course make a big comeback for a single digit finish.

Race two and race three were a little more stable as the breeze was now in from the east at 6-10 knots. This was a light seabreeze with the shoreline close to the right side with some geographical shifts we had to factor in to our tactics both upwind and down. Getting to the right hand side of the course after the starting is one of the most challenging things to do in catamaran racing. Because the boat virtually stops when you tack you either have to start on port tack and duck the fleet (or in very rare cases cross the fleet) or you need to have "partners" who also want to go right and will peal away giving you open water to tack. I find the more desperate you are to go right is when you have a boat blocking you that is determined to go left - all the way left! Our speed was better in the light air than in the heavy, but we're still not where we should be. We can't wait to get our mast and sails to see the true potential if the new boat. Until then we will continue to keep working with the gear we have to see if we can find more speed.

After we crossed the finish line in the first race today the RC hailed us over to talk to us about the lack of the event bow stickers on our boat. They were unhappy as all boats are required to carry bow stickers provided by the regatta sponsors. We explained to the RC that our new secret slippery bottom paint is too slick for the stickers to stick. Every time we put new ones on they came off on the way to the race course. We reminded them that we are not allowed to litter per the sailing instructions and he agreed and thought this was an excellent point.

Tomorrow looks like more sun and light winds. The RC is planning three more races to get back on schedule. We are working hard on our boat handling and teamwork.

You can download full results online. Semaine Olympique Française website - http://sof.ffvoile.net. We want to acknowledge all the support from our sponsor, Advanced Equities, and from our individual supporters.

Please spread the word with your friends and fellow sailors to join the team to receive our regular updates and, if they wish to make a donation.

Charlie
Stay tuned.

April 21, 2008 Hyeres - not What the Doctor Ordered. With my hand and forearm bandaged and adequate levels of pain medicine, off we went for another heavy air day of racing after receiving clearance from The U.S. Sailing Team Doctor, Scott Weiss. Johnny and I were back on course looking forward to more breezy races and plenty of action.

Race one was 16-20 knots and big waves. It was tough going and I'm not necessarily talking about the conditions. We had a great start and sailed a good first beat, but we noticed we were off the pace for the rest of the race. The first beats of any race really reward good starts and smart sailing and boat speed plays a minor role. After the first mark where the racecourse opens up, speed is essential to bring home a top result. We noticed we were slipping back and the first thought that goes through your mind is "what are we doing wrong?" At this level some of you would think we are so perfect that we'd naturally start looking at the boat and gear first for the problem, but this is not true. It took us all of two to three seconds of analysis it figure it wasn't us and it must be the boat! We are not surprised because it takes time to get a new boat up to speed and it doesn't help that our mast and sails, that we spent the entire fall developing, didn't arrive in time from the New Zealand World Championship and we are forced to use a spare mast from another team.

The Tornado is not like a monohull. It is more difficult to tune. Because the alignment of the hulls, dagger boards, rudders and cross beams are critical to the performance, any one of these only needs to be out by a fraction to impact the boat speed. And it takes time to get it right because it may look good onshore but the hulls and cross beams are constantly flexing and twisting in different wind strengths and especially in big waves that only over time spent on the water and fine-tuning onshore will we know the set up is perfect. This is one reason you see many of the top teams sailing older boats and why we are trying this boat out here and not at the Olympics.

Race Two was 19-22 knots and even bigger waves. The land influenced the wind and it was very shifty. This race we had a less than perfect start and had to battled back the entire race. We proved once and for all getting a marginal start did not improve our speed, but it gave us more opportunities to nail some good wind shifts to finish 11th. Not a top finish for us normally, but in this event it has been our best result yet. We have been dieting and developing our sails for the light winds of China and it seems we are paying for it here in the heavy winds.

Tomorrow's forecast is for Mistral winds 20-30 knots!

The good news is our training partners Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhuis are in second and sailing very fast in the heavy conditions. The other interesting thing is that the RC cracked down hard today and nailed several teams for OCS.

I am off to the doctor again to get more work on the hand. Hopefully I will get a good report. Stay tuned for tomorrow. You can download full results online. Semaine Olympique Française website - sof.ffvoile.net. We want to acknowledge all the support from our sponsor, Advanced Equities, and from our individual supporters.

Sail fast
Charlie

Johnny Lovell and Charlie Ogletree - Team Advanced Equities I

April 20, 2008. We are competing in the 40th addition of the Semaine Olypique Française (SOF) held on the waters outside the scenic French port town of Hyeres. Hyeres is located on the Mediterranean between Toulon and Nice and is inundated with the one-thousand sailors and coaches attending this regatta.

The harbor is fronted with dozens and dozens of cafes, restaurants, shops and ice cream stores with a promenade that runs between the store fronts and the outdoor seating and serving areas which also happens to be how most of the sailors transit to and from the launch area and their accommodations, or to stop by for a coffee and some free Internet service. It is striking to see the hoards of sailors in wet suits, sailing boots, team gear fill what is normally reserved for the locals and tourists.

We arrived last week to prepare. We have our new boat here, but unfortunately our Worlds mast and sails did not arrive in time from NZL so we are using a borrowed mast from the Greek team. Not perfect, but it will work. Our first two days were Mistral conditions of 25-35 knots, raining and 50 degrees, not at all the conditions we expect to have in Qingdao at the Olympics, so we decided to spend our time preparing the new boat. Most of the week remained windy, cold and rough and we're able to test the gear and boat in the extreme conditions. Yesterday was finally light wind so instead of taking the traditional day of before the first race day we decided to take advantage of the "Qingdao conditions" and towed out of the harbor early in the morning and spent four hours testing.

Today was the first day of the six-day regatta. The twenty-three teams competing account for everyone who we will race at the Olympics except for the Chinese and the Ukrainians. Since only one team per country is allowed at the Olympics, this will be a good test for small fleet racing which is totally different from the other major Tornado regattas.

Race one was sailed in 18-22 knots, rain and big waves. It was rough going and a tough and close battle for position in the tightly pack fleet. Even with a short layoff, we were not on top of our game and quickly got out of phase with the wind shifts and could only managed to finish close to the group and out of the money in 17th place.

Race two we executed a good start and sailed a smart first beat rounding in 7th spot. We continued with good pace over the next two legs finding our rhythm, hitting the shifts, going fast, and keeping it all together in the extreme conditions. That is until the second windward mark where a boat capsized just in front of us with the crew being flung fifteen feet into the air. Avoiding the capsized boat and wayward crewmember lead us into a radical pitch-pole (end for end capsize) that put us upside down and unable to finish the race.

Worse yet, I am forced to type this report one handed after a visit to the doctor to repair my right hand and forearm that was damaged in the capsize. It is bruised and I seem to have some nerve damage. A day off would be nice but I will see in the morning how the arm is functioning. The French team wins the capsizing title of the day with a three-peat.

You can download full results online. Semaine Olympique Française website - sof.ffvoile.net. We want to acknowledge all the support from our sponsor, Advanced Equities, and from our individual supporters.

Please spread the word with your friends and fellow sailors to join the team to receive our regular updates and, if they wish to make a donation.

Regards
Charlie

Johnny Lovell and Charlie Ogletree - Team Advanced Equities I

March 1, 2008 International Tornado World Championship, Hauraki Gulf, N.Z. Jonny Lovell and Charlie Ogletree report: Stormy conditions forced the abandonment of racing on the final day of the 2008 International Tornado World Championship and our Team Advanced Equities finished eighth overall and just one place out of seventh.

The Australians Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby won the event, marking was Bundock's sixth world title in the Tornado catamaran. Canada's Oskar Johansson & Kevin Stittle were second and qualified their country to race Tornados in Qingdao. The French crew of Yann Guichard & Alexandre Guyader tied on points with the Canadians but were scored third when the tie was broken.

While we didn't make it to the podium, we're coming away from this event very encouraged about our prospects for Qingdao next August. We sailed very well and the biggest positive was that we were quick in a breeze and quick in light air and able to score well in all conditions. Our big disappointment was breaking down on Day Two when we were second overall. Looking back at the scores it's easy to see just how much that day hurt us.

We came here with a clear goal. We wanted to see how the advances we made and the things we tested at the American selection trials stacked up against the rest of the world. We confirmed that the equipment we are using is competitive. When we suffered losses it was through gear failure or poor tactical decisions. We'll be addressing those issues. We're as fast as anybody in any given condition. We can see some little steps in sails and equipment refinement between now and the Olympics but we'll be focussing on our performance mentally and physically in getting the boat around the race course.

We want our supporters to remember that for three years out of every quadrennium, we are part time professional sailors. Full-time careers make it difficult to stay at the top of your game. However, from now until the Olympics we're back to full-time professional status. We'll be putting jobs on hold and seeing very little of our families as we ramp up our training and preparation; looking to peak in top form and condition for the Olympics.

It's good to know we could do well here. The Hauraki Gulf, off the Takapuna Boating Club is very challenging. It is one of the trickiest we've ever sailed in. It has current, it is surrounded by land masses, there is breeze from a lot of different directions and thermals from various land influences. All those things factor in to keep sailors on their toes.

Crews representing nine countries were contesting the final four places on the Qingdao starting line. Canada, Austria, New Zealand and the Ukraine made the cut, beating out Russia, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Poland and Venezuela.

With their second overall, Canada's Johansson and Stittlle qualified comfortably. They have been improving steadily and have sailed more than any other team over the last six months. Austria's Roman Hagara & Hans Peter Steinacher, who won Gold in Sydney and Athens were the second team to qualify with their 11th overall. They are light air specialists and arguably the favourites for Qingdao. This was more of a heavy air event and they were only just able to qualify. Aaron McIntosh & Mark Kennedy from New Zealand finished 12th and qualified their country. They are relative newcomers to the Tornado but Aaron represented New Zealand in the Mistral sailboard and is an Olympic veteran. Pavlo Kalynchev and Andrey Shaufranyuk from the Ukraine are another team that has been improving, and their 16th overall was enough to qualify them. They dealt a crushing blow as they locked out the Russians Andrey Kirilyuk and Valery Ushkov who represented their country in the last Olympics but finished here in 17th

As we leave New Zealand, we'd especially like to thank Mark Kenna, our Australian physiotherapist. Before racing started Charlie strained his back moving boats and without Mark's help it would have been a much tougher regatta for us. Andy Hagara came from Austria to coach us. He's agreed to coach us through the Olympics and we couldnıt be more pleased. He's a Tornado World Champion, two-time Olympian and European champion. He brings a lot to our program. Finally, we want to thank John Bertrand in Annapolis, Md., and Keith Taylor here in Auckland, for their marketing and communications efforts on our behalf. It was great to have Keith onsite to assist with our reports.

You can download full results at Takapuna Tornado Worlds: http://www.takapunaworlds.org/index.cfm?eid=1041

Be sure to visit our T-Squared Racing website: http://www.t-squaredracing.com/

Sail fast, Johnny Lovell and Charlie Ogletree - Team Advanced Equities I

February 27, Wednesday on the Hauraki Gulf off Takapuna Beach, N.Z. No racing when a fickle and fitful southerly collapsed to a near calm, tomorrow, Thursday, was supposed to be a lay day - but is now scheduled for two races, but with a high pressure cell centered offshore just to the west of Auckland the prospects doesn't look promising. The forecast calls for variable breeze in the morning, trending to an onshore northeast breeze at 10 knots in the afternoon - Charlie Ogletree

February 26, Monday on the Hauraki Gulf off Takapuna Beach, N.Z. John Lovell [New Orleans] and Charlie Ogletree [Kemah, Texas] posting second and fifth place finishes to end the day second overall and just one point out of first place. The German crew of Roland Gaebler and Gunnar Struckman handled today's conditions very consistently and their two third place finishes put them first overall with six points to our seven. This was the beginning of the five-day, ten race World Championship and our performance was a great way for the US team to ramp up their campaign as they look towards the Olympics in Qingdao, China six months from now.

John Lovell

They report conditions were incredibly difficult with bright sunshine and a fresh southwesterly breeze gusting off the beach in big puffs and eddies that made you a champion one minute and left you gasping for air the next. Apart from one or two holes, the breeze was never light, ranging from 12 up to 18 knots and with 30 degree shifts.

We staged an awesome mid-line start in the first race of the day and were amongst the top 15 boats half way up the weather leg of the three-lap race. A big header slammed in and we were the first to tack into it and crossed the entire fleet on port. We connected the dots on the next two shifts and at the weather mark we had a 150-yard lead on the second boat - but not for long!

Charlie Ogletree

As we bore off around the mark the biggest puff of the day hit and we accelerated in a shower of spray before we stuffed both bows and came to an abrupt halt. By the time we'd recovered, our lead had evaporated, but we came back and trailed the Spanish boat round the leeward mark. The battle was close at times and we got within five seconds of the Spaniards at the last weather mark before we sailed a conservative last run to protect our second place.

Race two featured an aborted start, called off as a big left shift forced a general recall. Then we made another awesome start, hitting the middle of the line at speed. We had a nice first beat and were third or fourth at the top mark before making up ground and rounding the weather mark for the second time in second place behind the Canadians. Our choice of the wrong gate at the leeward mark proved fatal and we were all the way back to seventh before clawing back to fifth at the finish.

We're real happy with our early record. You don't win regattas on the opening day but it's easy to lose them. We know it's going to be a long week in demanding conditions and we're up for it. We have good boat speed and we're executing well. The next few days will be a big challenge. The forecasters are predicting more of the same from the southwest tomorrow but probably lighter and flukier. Then on Wednesday the breeze is predicted to go southerly and lighter before backing to a light onshore easterly as the day wears on and a small high pressure cell moves in from the Tasman. We may get a taste of Qingdao, without the big swell or the jellyfish - Sail fast - Johnny Lovell and Charlie Ogletree - Team Advanced Equities I

Our host club for this event is the Takapuna Boating Club. You can download full results at Takapuna Tornado Worlds: http://www.takapunaworlds.org/index.cfm?eid=1041

Be sure to visit our T-Squared Racing website: http://www.t-squaredracing.com/

Strong Start to Sail Auckland

We finished fourth overall on the action-packed opening day of the Singapore Airlines Sail Auckland 2008 regatta. The annual event is hosted by the Kohimarama YC situated on Waitemata Harbour but the Tornados are racing out of the Takapuna Boating Club where we'll be competing in the World Champs later this month.

Preparing to launch. That's the Takapuna Boating Club in the background

We showed great speed and posted 17-1-3 places to finish the day fourth overall, buoyed by the knowledge that we could actually have done better.

This was a crazy day and not just for the weather. Our 40 international Tornados delayed our racing for the start of the 42-kilometer waka (six-person outrigger canoe) race around Rangitoto and Mototapu Islands which this year attracted 100 crews from NZ, Hawaii, Tahiti and San Diego. The southwester was forecast to come in at 25-34 knots but it actually varied from 10 to 22 knots. With the wind right off the beach, our weather mark was just 100 yards off the breakers. The heavy puffs coming off the shore and cliffs blasted some boats so hard they almost capsized. It was wild and whacky, with the lead positions changing radically. The racing was concentrated too. All our races were physically and tactically-demanding two-lap affairs.

In our first race we made a good start and sailed a conservative race and were comfortably in seventh until a big 20-degree left shift hit us just as we rounded the weather mark for the last time. Our leeward stern just kissed the mark and we were left to peel off and make a 360-degree penalty turn which meant we finished 17th.

Spinnaker reach

Our start to the second race was average but we sailed a nice weather leg to hold second place at the weather mark. We climbed on two shifts and closed distance on the Danish boat that was leading, then hit two more and passed him to win the race comfortably..

We had another average start for the third race but sailed an excellent weather leg and rounded the weather mark in first place and extended on the run to a comfortable lead. Starting the second beat there was a massive rain squall approaching, bringing a 20 degree right shift. We tacked to cover the boats behind us but four pressed further into the squall and the right corner. When we came together at the top mark two of the boats that went right were able to cross in front of us, leaving us to finish third.

The Race Committee has promised us four races tomorrow. In anticipation, we'll be treating our 40-year-old bodies to an early night, but not before a short visit to the annual Devonport Wine and Food Festival just around the corner from our house.

Our host club for this event is the Kohimarama YC. You can view full results at Singapore Airlines Sail Auckland 2008 [https://nzl.regatta-manager.com/Regatta/RegattaPage.do?page=home&clubContext=SailAuckland®attaContext=2008Sail]. Click on "Results" on the top menu and then chose "Tornados". We want to acknowledge all the support of our sponsor, Advanced Equities.

Be sure to visit our T-Squared Racing website

Sail fast - Johnny Lovell and Charlie Ogletree - Team Advanced Equities I

Auckland, NZ. February 17, 2008. Eighth Place in Tough Conditions

Day Two of the Singapore Airlines Sail Auckland 2008 regatta produced some topsy turvey results for us and most of the 40 contestants in the International Catamaran Class.

The fleet sailed four races in an extremely shifty south westerly with big velocity changes ranging from 12 to 20 knots, made even more difficult by the gusts angling off Takapuna Beach. There were lots of general recalls as competitors tried to come to grips with the conditions. After finishing yesterday in fourth place, we are now eighth overall

A sticky spinnaker halyard made things especially difficult for us today. We had trouble several times getting the spinnaker down as we approached the leeward mark. We sailed most of one weather leg without the spinnaker fully retracted into its housing.

When we finally got away in the first race of the day our boat speed was good but our sail handling could have been smarter. Basically, we failed to connect the dots and paid for it with a 17th place. We were in contention for a top place in race two, rounding the top mark in fifth place only to be dragged down by the spinnaker halyard problem. It cost us places but we managed to finish ninth. Race three saw us make our worse start of the day but we recovered to sail a solid race and finish in 14th place. In race four we made a great start only to be caught by a big wind shift that caused us to overlay the leeward gate. Our 18th finish became our throwout race.

Our host club for this event is the Kohimarama YC. You can download full results at Singapore Airlines Sail Auckland 2008. Click on "Results" on the top menu and then chose "Tornados". We want to acknowledge all the support of our sponsor, Advanced Equities. Be sure to visit our T-Squared Racing website.

Our host club for this event is the Kohimarama YC. You can download full results at Singapore Airlines Sail Auckland 2008 [https://nzl.regatta-manager.com/Regatta/RegattaPage.do?page=home&clubContext=SailAuckland®attaContext=2008Sail]. Click on "Results" on the top menu and then chose "Tornados". We want to acknowledge all the support of our sponsor, Advanced Equities. Be sure to visit our T-Squared Racing website

Sail fast, Johnny Lovell and Charlie Ogletree - Team Advanced Equities I

Our host club for this event is the Kohimarama YC. You can download full results at Singapore Airlines Sail Auckland 2008. Click on "Results" on the top menu and then chose "Tornados". We want to acknowledge all the support of our sponsor, Advanced Equities. Be sure to visit our T-Squared Racing website.

February 19, John Lovell/Charlie Ogletree - their Olympic Quest. The first two days of the Singapore Airlines Sail Auckland 2008 regatta offered us a taste of the winds we can expect from the southwest quadrant when we compete in the Tornado World Championship later this month. Today we got more of the same treatment. The breeze was lighter but it wasn't any easier to deal with.

Powering up

Weıre now eighth overall. Our 14-5-12 results today don't show it but we had a pretty decent time of it as we dealt with the same difficult weather pattern. The breeze was a little more southerly but still off the beach, with the weather mark pretty close to the Takapuna Boating Club. The range was bigger, from 10 to 16 knots. But the pattern of big shifts and big velocity changes had everyone constantly on and off the trapezes. There were a lot of crazy things happening.

All three of our starts today were excellent. We were consistently in the top group off the line and really pleased about it. It's good to demonstrate that ability in advance of the upcoming worlds. This week has shown that, despite all the development work we've done, our speed is still a couple of clicks off that of top five boats here. Weıve got some speed optimizing work to do after this event is over.

After placing fifth in the second race of the day we were within grasp of fourth or better in the last race of the day. We were actually in fourth but had a bad last run, missing a couple of opportunities to stay in contention. As a result, we lost seven boats with the finish line in sight and crossed in 12th place. It was a frustrating way to end the day but at least we know where we went wrong.

Tomorrow, we have one fleet race in the morning. After that the top ten boats sail over to the Kohimarama Yacht Club for the double points Medal Race. The breeze is forecast to switch east and lighten with occasional rain showers. There are no guarantees but it looks as if we're in pretty good shape to go to the medal round. With a couple of good performances, sixth place for this event looks as if itıs achievable. The breeze forecast to switch east and lighten with occasional rain showers.

Rigging up

Our host club for this event is the Kohimarama YC. You can view full results at Singapore Airlines Sail Auckland 2008 [https://nzl.regatta-manager.com/Regatta/RegattaPage.do?page=home&clubContext=SailAuckland®attaContext=2008Sail], click on "Results" on the top menu and then chose "Tornados". We want to acknowledge all the support of our sponsor, Advanced Equities. Be sure to visit our T-Squared Racing website

Sail fast, Johnny Lovell and Charlie Ogletree - Team Advanced Equities I

February 19, John Lovell/Charlie Ogletree - their Olympic Quest, Auckland, NZ. Finished seventh overall in the Singapore Airlines Sail Auckland 2008 regatta today after a fifth place finish in the Medal Race on the Waitemata Harbour. Earlier, the final fleet race on the Hauraki Gulf was cancelled for lack of wind.

Racing in the International Tornado World Championship 2008 starts next Monday here at the Takapuna Boating Club and we feel good about finishing at the top of a very competitive fleet that included all the sailors who've qualified for the Olympics in China this summer, plus all those still attempting to qualify.

After our fleet racing was called off this morning, our group spent several hours in a local coffee shop before setting sail for the Kohimarama YC, the host club for Sail Auckland. Conditions had picked up and by the time we started there was a steady 15-16 knot breeze out of the northeast accompanied by fairly flat water.

For a Medal Race, it was a longer and tougher workout than usual - four quite long laps, lasting in all about half an hour. We knew the best score we could achieve was sixth and the worse 10th so we had to protect our flanks, as it were, while taking a few chances at moving up the points table.

The start line was a long one and we were part of a group of four boats that elected to go for a port tack start. It meant ducking the right-of-way starboard tackers but a duck at reaching speeds in a catamaran costs little in time and distance while eliminating one tack on the way to the weather mark.

We had wanted to focus less on boat speed for this event and more on tactics and boat handling. We were fourth at the top mark and the fleet positions didn't change drastically after that. We dropped one more place before the finish.

We'll be taking a day off tomorrow before we resume tuning and testing in advance of the worlds.