TeamUSA Trains in Tarifa to Avoid Brazilian Spies

Tarifa, Spain.

Whooping it up in winds gusting to 35 knots, the members
of TeamUSA have been training for the past two days in Tarifa,
Spain, home of team member Monty Spindler, and LAM/The Loft sails.
Team members John Chao, Guy Miller, and Marco de Moraes, arrived at
The Loft after a pleasant, seven-hour drive from Algarve, Portugal,
where all three teams are convening to get ready for Saturday (March 25),
when the Trans-Atlantic Windsurf Race (TAWR2000) gets underway.
Originally scheduled to start on March 18, the trans-oceanic
windsurfing competition was pushed back one week because of poor
weather in Greece, where the teams' rigid inflatable boats (RIBs)
have been under construction.

TeamUSA's decision to drive to Tarifa was a strategy
call designed to give the Americans some space to test their new
equipment, away from the other teams. While all three teams have
been polite to each other, the Brazilians have been overly curious
about TeamUSA's equipment. "As soon as they saw our 380 F2 course
board, they picked up the phone and ordered one for themselves,"
observed one member of TeamUSA. "They are definitely feeling the
heat and they've been snooping around, trying to get inside
information about us."

It's David vs. Goliath 2000
Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that the nine-man
Brazilian team is incredibly well funded, with sponsors that include
the Brazilian national soccer team and Neil Pryde, the world's
largest sail company. They have their own coach, a videographer,
and a millionaire patron who has followed them to Portugal in order
to take them out to dinner every night before the race. A suggestion
was even made to have his helicopter follow the team and blast some
extra air to speed the team.

In contrast, the five-person American team is seriously
underfunded. Perhaps it's because an open-ocean sailing contest on
windsurfers is so mind blowing that even the windsurfing industry has
a hard time believing it can really happen. Or maybe it's because,
even though trans-Atlantic windsurfing requires the endurance of an
Iditarod dog racer and the determination of an Everest climber, the
handful of explorers who have successfully made it across the sea on
a sailboard have not gotten much media attention. This will be the
first time that highlights of the race will be televised around the
world. TeamUSA's dedicated and supportive sponsors include Murray's
Marine, Da Kine (manufacturer or windsurfing accessories), American
Windsurfer Magazine, Wind Wear (clothing), Trilogy Software, the
World Wrestling Federation, LAM Sails the Hong Kong based
manufacturer of The Loft sails. "The Loft is known for excellent sail
design, but it is a very small company compared to Neil Pryde," says
one member of TeamUSA. "Even though we are the classic underdog,
with less gear and fewer people to share the difficulties of
windsurfing across the ocean, everyone on TeamUSA is psyched to win
this event," says organizing captain John Chao. "We have the right
combination of strength, maturity, and respect for each other's
skills. If anyone can keep it together and beat the odds, it's our
team. We certainly don't carry the pressure like the others."

The US team just barely made the $50,000 entry fee largely
from sponsorship dollars from Mike Lam of Lam Sails, Trilogy
Software and The World Wrestling Federation. The Americans had the
support of Structure, an apparel company, as a title sponsor but a
last minute shift in the Ohio based, Limited Corporation wiped out
the already allocated budget for the team. This formidable and
unfortunate pre-event obstacle sunk two other teams. Greece had
trained all year and build a strong challenge but could not make the
entry fee cut-off date as the government failed to provide the
necessary funds. The same goes for the Liberty Team from Japan. Both
team were participants in the TAWR98 event.

Aware of their privileged position, every member of the team
have mustered their share of contribution. Guy Miller and Marco De
Moraes not only brought their respected employers as sponsors but
also spent considerable money of their own to better equip the team.
Miller even got the Austin Windsurfing Club to raise over $1000 to
cover the cost of phone transmissions from the boat. Monty Spindler
made three additional large custom sails for the team and made a
special secret weapon that will be unveiled once the race begins.

Today, after eight hours on the water, testing three new boards
and four sails, the Americans have a better feel for each other's
sailing skills. "The extra week in Europe has been a real bonus for
us. We have used the time to get our act together," says Chao,
adding that "the real challenge will come when we have to fit all of
the equipment on a 35-foot covered inflatable boat." The next test
will be rigging up in pitching seas. After that, the Goliath team
from Rio had better watch out!

The three, specially designed R.I.B.'s that will house the
teams for the next three weeks are expected to arrive in Portugal on
Thursday, when TeamUSA plans to drive back to Algarve. If all goes
according to schedule, the teams will have two days to familiarize
themselves with their respective boats before Saturday's launch. The
first leg of the race, from Algarve to Madeira, Tenerife, will cover
a distance of 600 nautical miles. "Cold nautical miles," says Chao.
"The nights along the coast are cold and we know that out on the
water, it will be even colder. We have to be prepared but until we
start windsurfing, there is no way to know what uncertainties the
ocean will present to us. "