USA SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDS ICCT TITLE IN ‘LITTLE AMERICA’S CUP’



Lovell and Ogletree win Trophy Series on 4-2 record



New Orleans, LA – In an exciting final day of competition, the Olympic Silver Medal team of John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree from the USA have successfully defended their claim to the International Catamaran Challenge Trophy (ICCT) by defeating Enrique Figueroa and Jorge Hernandez from Puerto Rico. After going ahead on a score of 3-1 yesterday the pair needed to win only one match today to hold on to their title in the first-to-four point series sailed in Lake Pontchartrain and hosted by Southern YC.



But the win did not come easily. In the first do-or-die match for the Challengers, Lovell and Ogletree repeated the mastery they’ve shown all week in match race sailing, controlling the Puerto Ricans in the pre-start and leading around the first mark by several lengths. And while the 9-12 knot southerly breeze was the most promising all week for match racing, there were many opportunities to speed away in the puffs but also pitfalls to die in the lulls over the 2.5-mile course. Soon after their rounding, Lovell and Ogletree gybed away to protect their lead, but fell into a hole while Figueroa and Hernandez sped away to a spectacular 3-minute lead, the largest of any match of the week.



“Thanks for the mulligan,” quipped Figueroa to a disappointed but smiling Lovell between matches. “We lucked into that one.” Even with the rivalry between these two which goes back to their Tornado competition in the Games in Athens, the FA18HT sailors in this event have maintained their good nature and camaraderie both on and off the water.



The sixth and deciding match was the last opportunity for the Challengers to even up the score, and they showed more aggression than in any match of the week. Pushing the Americans hard just seconds prior to the start, they thought the Defenders had not kept clear and signaled for a penalty. Umpires Dobbs Davis and Dwight Le Blanc disagreed, and green-flagged the incident which threatened to put Lovell and Ogletree over at the start. In a repeat performance seen in several prior matches, the Defenders effectively controlled the Challengers all the way to the port tack layline, but this time guarded their lead more carefully to sail into victory by 27 seconds.



“That was really hard,” said a relieved Lovell while sailing back to the harbor. “There were plenty of holes and puffs we felt could close the gap. We’re just glad its over.”



According to John Dawson of the Sea Cliff YC, the Trustees of the Deed of Gift, it will now fall once again on Southern YC to organize the next challenge and defense of the ICCT, also known as the ‘Little America’s Cup.’ “We hope to see this event held again on an annual basis,” said Dawson, “and provide more eligible competitors the opportunity to sail for this prestigious trophy.” An announcement of the dates, venue, and catamaran class to be used in the next event will be made before the end of January 2005.



For more information on results on this year’s event and on the history of the ‘Little America’s Cup’, visit the regatta website at www.southernyachtclub.org. For photos from the event, visit www.syc.photosite.com.