Diaz Leads Snipes; Olympics Get Going

With the final two races today, veteran Snipe sailor Augie Diaz and crew Kathleen Tocke carry a six-point lead at the 2008 Snipe Nationals hosted by Richmond YC. The duo has counted four bullets and a third to this point, leading Ernesto Rodriguez and Leandro Spina in second, with Peter Commette and David Harrison a close third. The 31-boat fleet has had some real gear-busting conditions, and we understand there’s more than a couple bent rigs and other carnage.

Six thousand miles to the west, the 2008 Olympic sailing events get under way with the first two races in both the Finn and Yngling today, starting at 10 p.m PDT. At this point there’s no TV coverage planned, but you can follow the sailing online at NBC’s site. US Sailing has also launched a site expressly for the Olympic regatta. The forecast for today’s racing is 2-7 knots of breeze — which is Qingdao’s equivalent of an August day on San Francisco Bay — and in large part, the reason for the proviso that only one race is required to constitute a series for the event. Good luck to the US Sailing Olympic team!