Personal Best: Sailing with an edge

On the bay: San Francisco Yacht Club host the International One Design World Chapionship Regatta. (Lyons Imaging.com)

BELVEDERE — At the age of 3, Danielle Ames-Lawson’s father put her to work. Her “job” was as a sailing crew member.

Ames-Lawson was 11 when she was promoted to actually piloting the boat.

“I was the boy that my father never had,” Ames-Lawson said.

Ames-Lawson, husband Jeff and the Pearce brothers — Rich and Mark — will compete for the San Francisco Yacht Club this week as it hosts the International One Design World Championships.

Raised in Tiburon, the sailing careers of the Pearce brothers also began at age 3. Their dad, Mel, turned in his racing stripes two years ago at the age of 80, but he maintains an active interest in his sons’ successes on the water. When the San Francisco Yacht Club last hosted the World Championships in 1999, the Pearce family raced as a team with Mel, Mark, Rich older brother Jeff. Victory eluded the Pearces in 1999, and helmsman Rich acknowledges that redemption will not be an easy task.

The host crew is confident about its chances in this week’s five-day, eight-race regatta. The SFYC team has already qualified for the 2009 IOD World Championships in Sweden by winning the recently completed 23-event season on San Francisco Bay.
Competing together for the last three years, precision teamwork has been the force behind the crew’s success.

“It comes down to tactics and crew work,” Rich Pearce said. “The most successful boats are always the best-crewed boats. It can get very, very tight.”

Added Jeff Lawson: “Everyone has confidence in the other person’s ability to perform their jobs.”

Rich Pearce serves as the Tiburon fire chief when he’s not commandeering sailboats. His ability to manage a team in stressful situations carries over to his role as the helmsman.

“It’s akin to fighting a fire and working as a team,” he said. “Good skippers follow instructions well.”

Accepting instructions from Ames-Lawson is certainly a good place to start. With bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one can easily understand why Ames-Lawson crewmates refer to  her as “the brains of the operation.”

In her role as the foredeck, Ames-Lawson provides information on the tides, winds and competing boats. With Rich Pearce steering, Mark Pearce and Jeff Lawson take care of the sails; they handle the “heavy lifting” work.

“Our heads are focused in the boat while Danielle is focused out of the boats,” Jeff Lawson said.

Hosts hope event will be smooth sailing

The Pearce-and-Lawson crew will face 10 of the world’s best teams this week at the IOD World Championships, including defending champion Charlie Van Voorhis and his crew from Fisher’s Island, N.Y. Eugene “Penny” Simmons, a six-time IOD world champion, skippers the Bermuda crew, while Bill Widnall of Marblehead, Mass., is a nine-time winner.

“Penny and Bill are geniuses in these boats,” Rich Pearce said. “I’ve seen these guys do things in these boats that I didn’t think were possible. They have amazing boat-handling skills.”

Adds Danielle Ames-Lawson: “They can squeak speed out of boats that you didn’t know was there.”

So does the Bay Area crew put a priority on winning or being a gracious host?

“It’s more important to host a really excellent event,” she said. “It adds a lot of depth to your own fleet, just being competitive is important as well … as long as you go out there and don’t embarrass yourselves.”

International One Design World Championship Regatta

WHAT: International One Design sailboats are 33-foot, open-cockpit vessels

WHEN: Monday through Saturday

HOST: San Francisco Yacht Club, Belvedere

RACE SITE: Berkeley Circle, near Berkeley Pier, on San Francisco Bay

WHO: Eleven crews from the U.S., Norway and Bermuda

DEFENDING CHAMP: Charlie Van Voorhis, Fisher’s Island, N.Y.

OTHER NOTABLE SKIPPERS:

Nine-time champ Bill Widnall, Marble Head, Mass.; six-time champ Eugene “Penny” Simmons, Bermuda

SFYC CREW: Rich Pearce (skipper), Mark Pearce, Jeff Lawson, Danielle Ames-Lawson

SCHEDULE: Races Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 10:50 a.m. first warning each day

MORE INFO: www.sfiod.org/worlds, www.sfyc.org, (415) 435-9133