By Kristien Lane: Team http://www.teambrickhouse.com/K. Lane: I am here with Mark Strube who’s a member of Team Brick House 539 where he does the bow. He’s fresh off a victory at Kiel in the competitive Olympic Star class. Mark, first off congratulations on a strong win in Kiel. That’s a big time event to win and you did it convincingly. Tell us how you did it?
MS: Thank you Kristen, The biggest thing that contributed to our victory was consistency. We finished with two 3rds and two 4ths. Only getting 4 races in didn't allow for a throw-out. Some of the other top teams had at least one bad race they had to count. Going into the medal race, which counts double, we were two points behind Ian Percy, the current Olympic Gold medalist.
He was sailing very well. On the medal race day, his crew, "Bart" Simpson, had to go meet the Queen, having won the Gold Medal. Well, their coach filled in. Not to take anything away from the coach but they hadn't sailed together and he was about 50 lbs lighter. Needless to say they didn't do so well. We finished second in the Medal race, behind Pepper/Monk who moved into second overall.
K. Lane: On the Star you sail with Mark Mendemblat. How did the two of you come together and describe what that sailing partnership is like.
MS: Mark and I met while sailing for the One World America's Cup team. He was still sailing lasers at the time and went to Athens in "04. He wanted to move into the star class after that and he and I were a good fit (weight wise). I had been sailing the star for 10 years at the time. It is a partnership in that communication is key. There is a lot of idea sharing both on and off the water. Logistics is also important. If one of us is at another regatta, the other has to make sure the boat gets to where it needs to go and gets set up. We agree on a lot of things but when there is a disagreement you need to discuss it and not get upset or take it personal. This is a team effort and both of us have the same goals, to medal at the next Olympics.
K. Lane: Tell us about your Star boat.
MS: We have two right now, a Lillia and a Mader. We have been sailing the Mader which is a little different to what we were use to. Our first regatta in Palma didn't go as well as we hoped but we have made big strides in the setup and sails and are well on our way to maximizing performance in the boat.
K. Lane: Alright. Let’s get into some more personal and interesting information, if you don’t mind. Anyone who has met you knows from simply looking at you that you’re an athlete. What are you, 6’ 5”? (Side note: standing next to Mark on the dock makes me look petite and thin...) In fact, you look more like a football player then a sailor. As it turns out, you and football have a past. Tell us about it: Read the rest of the interview...
Sail Fast!
Kristen Lane
K. Lane: On the Star you sail with Mark Mendemblat. How did the two of you come together and describe what that sailing partnership is like.
MS: Mark and I met while sailing for the One World America's Cup team. He was still sailing lasers at the time and went to Athens in "04. He wanted to move into the star class after that and he and I were a good fit (weight wise). I had been sailing the star for 10 years at the time. It is a partnership in that communication is key. There is a lot of idea sharing both on and off the water. Logistics is also important. If one of us is at another regatta, the other has to make sure the boat gets to where it needs to go and gets set up. We agree on a lot of things but when there is a disagreement you need to discuss it and not get upset or take it personal. This is a team effort and both of us have the same goals, to medal at the next Olympics.
K. Lane: Tell us about your Star boat.
MS: We have two right now, a Lillia and a Mader. We have been sailing the Mader which is a little different to what we were use to. Our first regatta in Palma didn't go as well as we hoped but we have made big strides in the setup and sails and are well on our way to maximizing performance in the boat.
K. Lane: Alright. Let’s get into some more personal and interesting information, if you don’t mind. Anyone who has met you knows from simply looking at you that you’re an athlete. What are you, 6’ 5”? (Side note: standing next to Mark on the dock makes me look petite and thin...) In fact, you look more like a football player then a sailor. As it turns out, you and football have a past. Tell us about it: Read the rest of the interview...
Sail Fast!
Kristen Lane
