Three makes a crew

Each time the three men board the boat, it's the same routine.

Gary Peterson handles the front, Michael Foster mans the middle, and Jeff Thomas steers from the back. Their teamwork is the key to their success.

 "That makes everything work," Thomas said. "If Mike's trying to do Gary's job, it doesn't work."

The trio of sailboat racers won the biggest race of their lives on June 12. Riding Thomas' boat, Ductape, they raced to victory in the San Juan 21 North American and Eastern National Championships, held on the Neuse River.  

The group is now eligible to compete in October's U.S. Championship of Champions in Carlyle, Illinois. Only the top 20 applicants get selected to compete in the event.

"If we race there, we'll be racing against Olympic gold medalists - some incredibly talented people," Foster said.

The three men began racing together 10 years ago at Blackbeard Sailing Club in Fairfield Harbour.

"Between us, we've raced to some pretty big races," Thomas said.

After the first day of racing on June 11, they were tied with Dick Dommel's boat White Knuckles for first place in the race. The light winds of the second day favored their boat.

"We actually had a terrible race, the first race," Thomas said. "Then we picked ourselves off the deck and started racing the boat."

They got a clean start, stayed in front of the pack and held on for the victory. It didn't hurt that Dommel's boat fouled and had to restart the race.

"There's a certain amount of luck," Peterson said. "Anybody who tells you there's not, they're kidding you."

But sailboat racing also takes skill. Sailors must be aware of the wind conditions and adjust accordingly. They use the term, "seeing air," to describe the process of determining wind conditions by the color of the water.

"The darker water gets, the more disruption to the surface of the water. When it starts getting dark, that's air," Peterson said. "The wind is going across the surface and breaking the surface up, so the light's not reflecting the same."

The sailors also aim to stay in fresh air, meaning they aim to stay in front.

"When one sailboat is behind another, you're getting wind that's coming off the back of their sail," Peterson said. "We call it exhaust. It's disturbed air, and it's slower."

For Peterson, Foster and Thomas, winning the San Juan 21 was sailing's equivalent to winning the Super Bowl, the World Series or the Daytona 500.

Now, looking ahead to the world championships, they are crossing their fingers, hoping they get selected to race. If they do, there's no doubt they will participate.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Peterson said. "Why would you not go? All you can do is get your tail beat."

Jess Huffman can be reached at (252) 635-5669 or at jhuffman@freedomenc.com.