Dear Supporters, We’ve just returned home to the USA from the Olympic Games. The last four weeks in China was the experience of a lifetime. We finished the Olympic regatta in 12th overall. This was not the position we had hoped for heading into the racing, but we can safely say we gave it all we had and left everything on the waters of Qingdao. The 470 racing took place in the earlier part of the sailing competition, which turned out to be the light wind week. We had flashes of brilliance with 5 finishes in the top 10 during the ten-race regatta but we had difficulty putting consistent results on the board.

 

The highlight of our racing was undoubtedly day #4 (races 7 & 8). We launched at 11am for a 1pm start (it was a 45 minute tow to our race area). The day looked promising with surprisingly clear skies and even a little cumulus developing on shore. Perhaps a meaningful thermal would bless they day’s racing? But alas, when we finally arrived at the start, there wasn’t a breath of wind. We bobbed around until 4pm when the evening land breeze began to fill. The race committee was quick to start us, hoping to keep the fleet on schedule. Because all of China is on one time zone and Qingdao is on the eastern frontier, dusk comes early, even during summer! We had a wonderful 8-12 knots for both races and even got to pump downwind. We rolled two consistent scores: 7, 6, which was good enough to boost us into the top 10. By the time we reached the ramp in the Olympic Harbor it was 7:30 and pitch black. Thankfully, US Team Leader Dean Brenner was there to meet us, trolley and American flag in hand. We were exhausted but thrilled to turn in a consistent day.

 

We spent August 21-24 in Beijing at the Olympic Village. It was incredible to live and meet with U.S. athletes from other teams. We also got the chance to attend a few events including the gold medal games for volleyball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and handball. On August 24th we capped our Olympic experience by marching in the Closing Ceremony and what a show it was! China has set the bar extremely high for all future Olympic host cities.

 

It has been a pleasure and a privilege to represent the United States at the 2008 Olympic Games. The Olympic ideal has had a profound effect on our lives. Competing in the Games has made us better sailors, better sportswomen and better people. The Olympic movement is humbling and awe-inspiring. We hope use our momentum to give back to sailing as it has given so much to us. We would like to thank each and every one of you for your support, enthusiasm, good wishes, emails, phone calls and ongoing interest in our sailing. We truly believe we would not have made it to the Olympics without such an incredible support system behind us. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

 

We would especially like to thank: Our Families, US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (especially Dean Brenner, Katie Kelly, Gary Bodie & Sarah Hawkins), Coach Bunny Warren, Gill, Kaenon Polarized, Snapper Rock, Mills Sails, SeaMar Gloves, New England Ropes, Kinesys Performance Sunscreen, Shelter Island YC, Surf City YC, New York YC, Seawanhaka Corinthian YC, Shrewsbury Sailing & YC, NJYRA, the Lightning Class, Sailing Foundation of New York, Southport Sailing Foundation, and the Oyster Bay Sailing Foundation for believing in us!

Very Best Always,

Sarah & Amanda

The Opening Experience! Words cannot begin to describe our Opening Ceremony Experience from Beijing last night. There simply isn’t the vocabulary that has the ability to draw deep enough meaning. It was the thrill of our lives to walk through the tunnel and into the Stadium surrounded by our country’s great athletes and wearing the Team USA uniform! Our day started very early on 8/8/08 as we boarded a charter flight from Qingdao to Beijing with sailors from all nations. Once we landed in Beijing the US sailors checked into the Olympic Village and had the afternoon free to roam the campus. The first stop was the dining hall and, wow, what a place! The cafeteria must be almost a kilometer long with more food choices than a New Jersey mall food court (complete with a McDonalds). We also checked out the athlete entertainment center, gym, pool and yes, even took a 30 minute crash course: Chinese 101. By 4:30PM we started dressing in our parade wear and gathered in front of the USA housing building. After a few photos we boarded a bus to the Fencing Hall to meet President Bush. The President gave a short but potent pump up speech to the US athletes then posed for a photo with each sports team. We also got the opportunity to meet athletes from other sports and snap more photos. In addition, there was a fair bit of marveling at how great everyone looked in the opening gear! Next we moved into the Gymnastics arena, which was transformed into a waiting/queuing area for the opening ceremony. National teams were seated around the arena by marching order. In the Chinese alphabet the United States was 140 of about 204 nations for last night’s order, so we had some waiting to do. Side note: this was a lucky break as the letter “U” in the English alphabet would have put us even farther back! Once the USA was announced, it was marching time…..or so we thought. It took about 30 minutes to leave the gymnastics arena, followed by another 45 minutes to walk across the street. It was during this time that we were first exposed to the crowds of excited Chinese fans lining the walkway. Talk about enthusiasm- these people were out of their minds energized. The atmosphere was contagious as every step we took, albeit slow, brought us closer and closer to the tunnel leading into the stadium. Inside the tunnel the entire US team broke into a beefy chant of “U-S-A!, U-S-A!, U-S-A!” but we were quickly drowned out the by crowd as we broke into the stadium. This was a moment we will never forget--the roaring of the crowd, blinding flashes from 1000’s of cameras, countless American flags waving in the masses of people and the electricity in the humid Beijing air. The highlight of the loop was marching passed President Bush and his entire family, where US athletes tipped their driving caps. The President acknowledged the team by standing and pumping his fists. Once the ceremony was over, we exited the stadium and boarded buses back to the village at 1AM. We’d been traveling since 6:30am, standing for almost 8 hours and sweating buckets the whole night but we were too excited to go to sleep. Where, might you ask, would thousands of energized Olympic athletes migrate to at 1AM? The dining hall, of course! And the place was jumping with activity. There might have been a lapse in our diets as we enjoyed an ice cream and took in the scenery. Athletes of every nation, still in their parade ensembles, were reliving the night. At 2AM we finally turned in and set our alarms to make the morning flight back to Qingdao. Once back in Qingdao, we took our sails for the final measurement task: country call letters and names. Watching the Chinese volunteers affix USA to each side of the sail was a big moment. More amusing was when they moved on to our names. CLARK was business as usual but sticking MERGENTHALER was a larger job to tackle. They couldn’t seem to get it straight so coach Bunny took matters into his own paws and did it himself! Our practice race is tomorrow then the main event begins on Monday, August 11th! Stay tuned, Sarah & Amanda

 

08.08.08

Dear Supporters!!

 

 

Just a quick reminder: Sarah and I will be marching in the Opening Ceremonies! Check your local listings for when NBC will be airing the event in your area.

 

For Shelter Islanders and anyone near SI… fans will be gathering at the Chequit Inn in the Heights around 7pm on Friday evening to watch the event.

 

Our boat is all measured and we are ready to start racing on the 11^th of August. Check NBCSports.com for updates on racing. The full address is:    http://www.nbcolympics.com/sailing/index.html

 

 

We will keep everyone posted!!

 

Thank you!!

Amanda Clark

Sarah Mergenthaler

www.teamgosail.org