Photo by Amory Ross (US SAILING)

Action from the 2008 U.S. Paralympic Team Trials - Sailing in the Sonar class, which was ultimately won by Rick Doerr (skipper), Tim Angle and Bill Donohue. They earned a trip to the 2008 Paralympic Games with their victory.

The range of wind conditions during the Trials was wide, as the weather transitioned from summer temperatures to fall during the regatta, bringing light, fluky air balanced by blows of 18 knots and surfable seas.

The 2.4mR class may have been small, with four boats; but in the end, it came down to a lethally close battle among the top three boats: winner John Ruf (Pewaukee, Wisc.), second place Mark LeBlanc, and third place Mark Bryant. Afterward, Ruf laughed about the challenge of the last day: "It was almost like a three-way match-race, if you can imagine." To win, Ruf had to be marginally better than his two closest rivals - but marginal is the operative word. There wasn't room for much else: only one point separated first to third places in the final tally.

Sonar skipper Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.) and his crew of Tim Angle (Marblehead, Mass.) and Bill Donohue (Brick, N.J.) started the regatta looking golden; after taking three bullets in the first four races, Doerr and company were shaping up to be the odds-on favorite. But that trend did not continue.

Back-of-the-fleet finishes, a DSQ in Race 5, and a rocky path back to the top of the leader board ensued. After winning the regatta, Doerr sounded relieved - and at the same time, thankful to the Sonar sailors who instead could have captured this Paralympic berth: "The strong competition here in the U.S. has only pushed us to another level," he said.

Each quadrennium, US SAILING and the Olympic Sailing Committee focus on cultivating a field of elite sailors in each class. The US Sailing Team and the US Disabled Sailing Team are comprised of the top-3-ranked sailors in each class. There is a new program to groom young racers, the Elite Youth Development Team, which provides its team members with a support network of coaching, educational, and administrative assistance. It takes a village-or rather, a fleet. To cultivate one top athlete, it is clearly necessary to groom the sailors around them.

SKUD-18 sailors Nick Scandone (Fountain Valley, Calif.) and Maureen McKinnon Tucker (Marblehead, Mass.) are the only East Coast winners who did not fit the pattern of being pushed to peak performance by a rival close on their heels: they launched themselves in the standings by winning 11 individual races and had the class win mathematically sewn up before the final day. They are a new pairing in this doublehanded class making its Paralympic debut - and one to watch in Qingdao.

REALITY SETS IN: CHINA-BOUND

Sonar winner Rick Doerr reported in after the Trials from his car, driving home right after the awards with his Sonar in tow. As he crossed the Newport Bridge, he looked down at Narragansett Bay. The expanse of blue water, now quiet in the early evening hours, had a certain emotional hold on him. "I miss it already," he said, of the place where he battled for a shot at Paralympic glory.

It was clear that the exhilaration of the wins and the deep distress of the losses were still reeling inside him. For Doerr-and for the 20 other sailors who earned their berths to the 2008 Games in this regatta-it would take days for the swings of emotion to settle down and for reality to set in. But as Doerr's red tail lights disappeared over the bridge, he also talked of the road ahead, very much aware he was already traveling the first few miles of a long-desired path: to China.

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will take place August 8-24; the Paralympic Games take place September 6-17, 2008. Both the Olympic and Paralympic regattas will be held in Qingdao, China, a coastal city located 430 miles east of Beijing.

Complete results, daily race reports, photos and more information on the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team Trials - Sailing can be found at www.ussailing.org/olympics/OlympicTrials. Video from the event with commentary by Gary Jobson is available on the website of the NBC network at www.NBCOlympics.com.