“I think the most meaningful thing about the NAs was that it was the biggest regatta that we have won together, and it came down to the last race, it actually came down to the final run of the last race. Whenever you are having a competition that is that intense, it’s exciting, it’s exhilarating, it makes crossing the finish line that much more of a big deal. To share that with Danny was very meaningful.” – Paul Cayard
Star Olympian (2004), Paul Cayard has been successfully racing the two-person dinghy since his late teens, and since 2015, he’s been occasionally racing the boat with son Danny as crew. They recently conquered the Star North Americans, hosted by the Newport Harbor Yacht Club, with a dramatic end going into the 8th and final race where just two points separated the top three teams: Cayard/Cayard, George Szabo/Guy Avellon, John Dane/Dave Martin. After a tight battle for most of the race, it was only in the final leg that the Cayard duo moved ahead and clinched the win.
“The race itself required me to use a lot of my experience, we were a little slower than George but we had a better start so we match-raced him a bit to keep him behind us and that pushed both of us down in the fleet a bit,” Paul says. “We had to be in the top seven to have a chance at winning because George’s worst race was a seventh. We got back in there at about 12th, we were fast downwind so we were able to stay with them and even stretch a little then start working through the fleet. Combining all of that and to have Danny sail with me in that situation where we had to use our experience and then to win it on the final run was all just super special and something we’ll never forget.”
Growing up in the Cayard household among sailing champions (grandfather Pelle Pettersson was also Star world champion and two-time Olympian in the Star), Danny felt the pressure but as he’s developed his own competency in sailing and a healthy respect for the accomplishments his forebears have brought to the sport, the younger Cayard is making his own way in sailing and enjoying every minute of it. He didn’t race competitively as a kid until high school – he went to Marin Catholic (Greenbrae, Calif.) where there was a sailing team, and got asked if he wanted to join. A lacrosse player in grade school he had free time until spring and found he really enjoyed being on the sailing team. He and his dad started sailing Stars together in 2015 which was the first summer Danny crewed for Paul, racing in the summer series in southern California. Since then, their regular gig has become the Star Vintage Gold Cup sailed in early fall in Michigan which they sail on their classic wooden Star boat Gem IX, winner of the gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
“It’s fun to race against each other, obviously dad is who is and very successful, I can’t compare myself to him ever and I don’t ever try to!” Danny laughs. I’ve grown up with the expectations and for my mental wellbeing, I just have to separate it a little bit but it’s all good! The Star class is amazing, I love the technical aspects of the boat and the ability for almost anyone of any age to be able to be competitive. It’s always been a family, and everybody is super helpful and welcoming, and they just know that I am me and not my dad!”
The Cayard father-son sailing dynamic was not a given thing as Paul recalls.
“We came from a place where the dynamic was much more difficult when Danny was in high school doing high school racing,” Paul recalls. “It was hard for him to have me coach him or give any suggestions but he’s 35 now and there is a good healthy respect there so I think he looks at it more like an opportunity to get some good results, have fun and sail with his father at the same time. We really get along really well on the boat, there are no difficult moments. I was impressed, he does a great job with crew work. In the NAs we had a couple of very tight roundings where we had to get the pole down and get the mast back, get all the sails in and get around the mark. Danny did it better than the other crews around us so it was just clicking.”
The recent North Americans was the perfect training platform for the Cayards leading into the Star Worlds hosted by the San Diego Yacht Club September 4-13.
“The whole NA week was great, we had tempered expectations because our weight was light together – about 40lbs underweight,” Danny notes. “But we sailed smart and pretty quick in whatever conditions were around, adjusted the rig and sails best we could to try to be dynamic on the boat to make up for it. It’s always a great time to sail together, we have a lot of fun, we’re competitive, and we did well!”
For the Worlds, Danny has partnered with Will Stout, and Paul will race with Frithjof Kleen. It will be the first time Danny has crewed for somebody else in the Star where he will be racing against his dad.
“Will and I have had a couple of days together getting used to each other and setting up the boat the way we both like it,” Danny says. “Will has done a lot of work in the last couple of years to get the boat the way he likes it so he’s done a lot of the legwork for straight line speed. We’re very competitive on the weight front so that’s helpful when you get up into the no wind range to be able to keep the power and move the boat forward. We definitely have a good set up – he’s a heavier skipper and I’m a little lighter so that helps and will be an advantage in lighter air.”
San Diego is the venue that has hosted more world championships than anywhere else, and commenting on the line up for the Worlds, Paul notes that the anticipated light air will favor some competitors for sure.
“Piet Eckert from Switzerland will very good and will be difficult to beat, he is sailing with Frederico Melo from Portugal who is also good, Tom Lofstedt from Sweden is good, and he could be good in light air. Ante Razmilovci from Great Britain won the Etchell Worlds a few years ago – he’s pretty fast and can be dangerous, and Jørgen Schönherr from Denmark is good for sure. From the US, Eric Doyle is going to be good, as will Brian Ledbetter and Will Stout. George Zsabo is racing from his home club and he’s very good in that light air. John Dane III is amazing; he is 73 and almost won the North Americans, he’s very fast. It’s a good group plus you have people around the event who are lifers like Dennis Conner who is hosting various events during the Worlds, Malin Burnham is having the mid-week party on the Midway, both long time Star sailors.”
Paul concludes, “In a series like this you want to be consistent and you need to have speed; in a 65-boat fleet, you have to be able to hold your lane, you’ve got to come off the line and be fast or else you’re just going to get flushed and you’re going to be 30th at the first mark. Starts are very important and you have to have speed, you have to be consistent, no black flags, and no major screw ups.”
Paul Cayard is a member of the advisory board for the St Francis Sailing Foundation.
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Images: Courtesy Star Class