Sailing

PARIS — One sailor used sandpaper to gingerly file down his broken molar before capping the aching stump with epoxy resin. But no one — at least not yet — has had to stitch their own tongue back together or crawl with a broken leg the length of their yacht tossed by raging seas, as in previous years.

SAN FRANCISCO — Do people go to auto races to see the wrecks? Some of them, certainly. Maybe the new era of America’s Cup sailing will attract wreck fans, too.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The crew of the Low Speed Chase was a relaxed but adventurous cadre of expert sailors who were fixtures on the Marin County waterfront, friends and family say.

For five of them, the toughest race in local yachting circles -- the Full Crew Farallones Race, held annually since 1907 -- was their last. A towering wave washed them overboard Saturday afternoon as their boat rounded the islands, and rescue efforts by three crew members who survived the disaster were dashed by another wall of water that wrecked the sailboat.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The battered "Geraldton Western Australia" yacht and its bruised crew were limping into port here Monday after a giant wave smashed over the stern with such force that it carried away the boat's steering wheel and knocked the crew about like bowling pins.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Zach Railey has sailed on the sport's biggest stage. His sister, Paige, has come within an eyelash of doing the same. Both know that the bar has been raised, that expectations have been enhanced, that they must bring everything they've got, with little room for error.

"Our goal is to go to the Olympics," Zach said. "And to win Olympic medals."

They're considered favorites for the 2012 London Games, rounded into shape last month during a four-day camp at the Olympic Training Center that prepared them for European races serving as qualifiers for events to determine the 16-person U.S. Olympic team.

SALT LAKE CITY -- The assembled sailors told tales of their stalwart adventures. Raising their grog and steely knives, they spoke of 12 vessels that sailed the frigid waters of The Great Salt Lake. They also boasted about crewing with the likes of "Hagar the Horrible" and his cast of characters.