Sailors Chase Dreams in America’s Cup Tryout

It’s an unusually still morning on the San Francisco Bay, certainly not windy enough for nine would-be America’s Cup sailors.

“Look at this, we can sail all day in this same spot,” says John Cutler, the boat’s helmsman. Cutler has guided Japanese syndicates in the past two challenges and is hoping to make it to the America’s Cup in 2000 with the first coed team.

On board America True, the America’s Cup 2000 syndicate representing the San Francisco Yacht Club, things are getting a little tense. Captain Dawn Riley is overseeing open tryouts for people vying for a shot at heading Down Under for the grandest of Grand Prix competitions.

The light wind only heightens their concentration. The sailors look out over the sparkling Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge ahead, waiting for the wind.

“The chances of gaining a spot in an open tryout like this are a little better than winning the lottery,” says Ed Broberg, 40, of San Francisco. “All of us have just been inaugurated into our own club, to try out for the America’s Cup team.”

As the winds come up and the crew scramble like overeager firefighters, the sail pops with a snap and the grinders hunch over the drums that trim the sail. The 48-foot yacht heels over and everyone shifts their weight and concentrates on the next move.

Once selected, the crew of America True will head to New Zealand in December and train there for two three-month blocks before the 16 syndicates begin the trials Oct. 15 for the right to challenge New Zealand for the America’s Cup in March 2000.

In 1995, Riley led the first all-female America’s Cup team, 32 of whom were selected through open tryouts. Now, as the first woman to manage an America’s Cup challenger, Riley will select up to four sailors for her backup team out of the 40 who tried out earlier this month. She had received about 170 resumes.

“There’s very few formal ways of evaluating potential sailors. If you have one bad regatta, that might limit your potential. It’s kind of scary from a budding sailor’s point of view,” Riley says. “So we’ve tried to give people their first chance or a second chance if they just haven’t had the right opportunities. They might not make it this time, but it’s a networking opportunity for them.”

It’s an impressive bunch. Sarah Buckley, 23, of Chicago was an All American last spring at the College of Charleston in South Carolina; Betty Sherman of San Diego has provided technical insight to syndicates for four America’s Cup races and bikes 13 miles a day; and David Burby, 30, of Santa Barbara is a tech support manager for a software company who got on the America True this morning as a walk-on.

“You can’t throw people together and expect them to be perfect,” Cutler says. “We’re looking to see how people respond to a situation.”

The chaos at the beginning stems partially from an unfamiliarity with the boat, which is rigged differently than most. “You can lose your footing,” Burby says, and others agree.

“You have a big learning curve with other people,” says John Campe, 24, of Cleveland, who’s serving as the starboard headsail trimmer. “You have no idea what they’re going to do.”

But as the wind picks up to about 9 knots, their teamwork improves.

Cutler is taking the crew through various maneuvers, tacking and jibing around invisible markers. This time they keep the headsail to the hull line of the boat, providing the most efficient wind speed.

“Good job on that one, guys. That was nice,” says Greg Burrell, a former tight end for the San Francisco 49ers who was invited to join Riley’s crew as a grinder.

“Getting smarter,” says Katarina Wikstrom of London, who’s the aft grinder today.

Of course, there’s time for fun, too.

Riley wants all the sailors on deck for a chat, and she’s waiting on the two down in the sewer. At last Buckley emerges with a male compatriot.

“We were making love,” she jokes.

“Ooh, we’ve got a feisty one,” Riley says.

“Doesn’t take long on a sailboat,” Burrell says.